Power Rangers: Cyberspace V2
by Slash-Raptor
Summary: Three years after Trojan's defeat, Earth receives a declaration of war from a powerful new enemy. Upon hearing this, Stephen Silverstone upgrades the old Digitizers and asks the Cyberspace Power Rangers to return to active duty. But will their new powers and abilities be enough to stop a threat that's unlike anything they've ever faced before?
1. Upgrade

Headquarters, Sector 0  
Metro City, Canada  
July 1st, 2018  
6:11 AM

 **"Stephen "Silver" Silverstone"**

A couple weeks after Trojan's defeat, Roger Illiak, a good friend of mine who was at the time, the Assistant Director of the CDI, held a press conference wherein he accidentally let it slip that they originally used my technology to banish Aaron Kingsley into Cyberspace.

This was true, but because Roger wasn't personally involved in that project, the things he said weren't entirely accurate. At first I thought he meant well and had just innocently put his foot in his mouth. Until he then used the publicity surge to oust the current CEO of the CDI and take over as the new CEO.

People then started to form accusations about how I purposefully rigged it so that Trojan would be able to escape after only a few years. Which, obviously is ridiculous. If I had wanted to Trojan to escape and terrorize the world, then why would I have recruited a team of Power Rangers to defeat him?

I even explained all of this to Roger, who, to his credit, did try to explain to everyone, but by then the damage was already done. So you can imagine my confusion and apprehensiveness when I was woke up to someone pounding on my door early this morning.

"Roger?" I asked groggily, after opening the door, "I assume I don't have to tell you how early it is."

"Yeah, sorry about," he said, "But this is urgent! The CIA, FBI, JIO, even MI6 all just received this weird encrypted message."

"What does this have to do with me?" I asked.

"Well, since everyone knows that you and I go way back and that you're the one responsible for assembling the Power Rangers team that defeated Kingsley, I persuaded them to let you get first dibs on the message." said Roger.

"And they were okay with that?" I asked, "My reputation is in shambles!"

"That's why I thought you might be interested," he said, "It's my fault that people think you were in league with Kingsley, so I'm offering you a chance to possibly clear your name."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then I leave and let the other agencies decide on what to do this." he said.

"Alright," I said, "I'll take a look, but I can't promise anything."

"That's fine."

"Come on in, I suppose." I said, pulling the door open wider.

Roger closed the door behind him as he stepped inside. I found it strange that he didn't travel with any security or even some lesser agents for backup.

"Wow," he said, looking around, "This place is nice."

"Yeah," I said, "Hey you want to hear a funny story? I almost lost this place when all the banks and investors threatened to cut me off because of my affiliation with Kingsley."

"Huh," said Roger with a nervous chuckle, "But, obviously they didn't, right?"

"Only because my lawyer threatened to sue them for everything they had if they cut me off without having any solid proof that I was actually involved."

"Stephen, I already told you. I didn't do it on purpose." he said.

"I know that," I said, "That's the only reason why I didn't slam the door in your face."

I led him downstairs to the basement. It was still exactly the same as it was three years ago when the Rangers were using it as Headquarters.

"Not even our setup is this elaborate," said Roger, "Tell you what, Stephen, if you can't decipher the message, I'll hire you to upgrade all our equipment."

"Trust me, Roger," I said, "You couldn't afford me."

Roger loosened his tie and fidgeted uncomfortably with his hands momentarily. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small USB key and handed it to me. I noticed that his hands were clammy.

"What's the matter, Roger?" I asked, "Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do," he said, "I'm just not sure I really want to know what the message says."

I walked over to my chair and sat down. I inserted the USB key into the console in front of me and waited. After a couple seconds, it looked like my computer just had a blue screen error. But when text appeared on the screen, I realized that this was the message.

"I thought you said it was encrypted?" I asked.

"Well, it is, isn't it?" asked Roger.

"No, this is an actual dialect."

"Really, which one?" he asked.

"The symbols look very similar to Klingon."

"Klingon?"

"Yeah, you know," I said, "From Star Trek."

"So what does it say?"

"That's just it," I said, "It doesn't say anything. The symbols look similar to Klingon, but not quite. It's almost like they're backwards..."

A thought formed in my mind as I spoke. I stood up and scratched my head.

"Wait here," I said, "I've got an idea."

I hurried back upstairs and tip toed into the nearest bathroom on the second floor. I didn't want to wake up Jenna or Sawyer.

From the bathroom I grabbed a small handheld mirror and then tip toed back down the stairs. Roger was waiting patiently for me back in the basement.

"Come here," I said, pulling him towards the console by his arm, "Do me a favour. Stand right there and hold this up just like that."

"Why?" he asked, confused.

"You'll see."

When I looked into the mirror, the backwards symbols were shown in the reflection and now I could confirm that it was indeed written in Klingon. Mine was a little rusty, considering how long ago it was since I last watched the TV show, but it was still good enough for me to translate the message.

"It says," I said, "Life forms of Earth, your ignorance of the Teachings of Psion is an affront to us, his children. The teachings clearly state that all those who refuse to follow the teachings must be eradicated!"

"See?" said Roger, "I told you I didn't want to know what it said."

"Whoever sent this message made a puzzle," I said, "Almost like they wanted to see how smart we are."

"Unless it's actually the Klingons that are attacking us." said Roger.

"You never watched Star Trek, did you?" I asked, "The Klingons were only hostile in the original series, in The Next Generation, they become close allies with humans."

"More of a Star Wars fan myself," said Roger, "Anyways... Thanks for your help, Stephen, but we'll take it from here. I'll make sure to mention that you were the one that deciphered it!"

This is why I was glad that I never shut down Headquarters. I just couldn't go through with it. I mean, what if the Trojan we destroyed wasn't the real Trojan, or what someone else just like him shows up later. Or, as seems to be the case right now, something else entirely.

Little did Roger know that my console automatically and undetectably creates a copy of whatever I put in the USB ports. Now I had my very own version of the message that I could examine on my own.

It's not stealing, because I didn't take anything. It's more like borrowing, except I don't actually have to take something away from someone.

Later that day, I called Jenna and Sawyer down to Headquarters. Sawyer still lived here because he was dating a doctor in town and he also a published author. He wrote a book based on the Rangers' adventures, only he changed all the names and made it so they were a different team of heroes that downloaded powers from Cyberspace.

"Roger Illiak came over this morning." I said.

"Isn't that the jerk that made everyone think you and Trojan were accomplices?" asked Sawyer.

"I wasn't thrilled about it either," I said, "But it seemed like he was trying to make things right by giving me a chance to rebuild my image."

"How?" asked Jenna.

"Roger claims that early this morning, every major intelligence agency on Earth received this all at the same time." I said, pressing the button on the console to turn the screen back on.

"A blue screen error?" asked Jenna.

"That's what I thought," I said, "But if you look closely, it's actually a message written in Klingon and then flipped around vertically, just like a mirror."

"What does it say?" asked Sawyer.

"Wait a minute..." I said, looking back at the screen, "It looks like there's a second message now. Maybe whoever sent it is transmitting it right now as we speak."

I went over to the console again. The mirror that I had used to read the first message was still on the console, so I tried to hold it like how Roger had, but I couldn't get the angle right.

"One of you, do me a favour and hold this mirror in place for me." I said.

Sawyer came over and took over for me.

"Tilt it up just a bit," I said, "There! Perfect. Hold it like that."

"What does the second message say?" asked Jenna, coming to stand behind me.

"It says," I said, "We are the Crusaders! We are the tools that the Oracles use to enforce Psion's will upon all those who would dare to refuse His benevolent light! We have destroyed hundreds of other worlds thus far. If you choose to fight or resist, just know that our numbers are in the trillions."

"My god..." muttered Jenna.

"This is exactly why I never got on board with my parents about the whole religion thing." said Sawyer.

"I think it's time to call the Rangers back into active duty." I said.

I spent the next few days working on upgrading the Digitizers. The more power the codecs can generate, the more abilities they can provide to their partners. Three years ago, the Digitizers were state of the art, so they only allowed the rangers to do a few things. But now, with these new and improved Digitizers, the rangers will have access to a bunch of new abilities.

Most notably is that the new Digitizers can handle more power, so the codecs will be able to generate 50% more energy than before. Which according to my research, should mean that each ranger will gain access to a second Zord and an alternate weapon.

They'll also gain the ability to channel a synthetic element in battle that can enhance their physical attacks or enhance their weapons. I also saw something about a power up mode known as Burst Mode, but it seems to be locked away deep inside the codecs. Maybe the rangers have to unlock it or something?

Since I never had an opportunity to do it last time, I took Sawyer's codec and used lasers to trim it so that it would be the same size and shape as the other five. Since they haven't been used for quite a while, the codecs had become dormant, which is the same state they were in when I first found them.

The genetic bond that the codecs formed with their respective ranger will still be there, and once they wake up, it'll be just like how it was three years ago.

After about a week, the Digitizers were finished. I called Sawyer down to Headquarters and first of all, asked him if he was willing to return to active duty.

"Absolutely," he said, "This is my destiny."

"Great," I said, "So then why don't you test out your new 2.0 Digitizer?"

I handed him his codec. Once I placed it in his hand, it exploded with purple light and then went back to glowing softly.

"The new morphing call is individualized for each of you," I said, "So for you, it would be 'Purple Ranger! CYBER POWER!' Oh, and the hand movement is the same one Riley, Rachel, Oz and Chloe use. Give it a try."

Sawyer inserted his codec into the small plastic case on the new Digitizer. He took a minute to examine it, and then nodded at me.

"Purple Ranger! CYBER POWER!" he shouted.

Since he didn't normally perform that particular morphing action, the hand motions were a little sloppy, but that doesn't matter as much as the voice activation, which was spot on.

With a purple flash, Sawyer's ranger suit had materialized around him. He looked at his costume and then moved his fingers curiously.

"How do you feel?" I asked.

"Stronger," he said, "Am I supposed to?"

"Yes. I had to trim your codec to be the same size as the others," I said, "But the new Digitizers can handle more power than the old ones."

"Isn't that a bit of a downgrade for me?" asked Sawyer.

"Not really," I said, "In your case, you're about 20 or 30% stronger. But the others will all be exactly 50% stronger."

"Very cool," he said, "Power down."

"Now that you're officially back on the team," I said, "I have a job for you."

"Recruit Chloe?" he asked, finishing my sentence for me.

"If you don't mind," I said, "Jenna will talk to Oz, and I'll talk to Riley and Rachel."

"We haven't really spoken since we broke up," said Sawyer, "She even changed her phone number."

"Rachel will probably know how to get in touch with her," I said, "So I guess for now, just wait and see how things go."

Last I heard from them, Riley and Rachel were both attending Metro City University part time. She was trying to get her Bachelor's Degree, while Riley was working to get a degree in teaching.

Not exactly what I expected him to go into, but he's still young. He may change his mind and decide he wants to do something different. At least I don't really have to go anywhere to talk to them. I could just take the car and drive to Sector 18.

Seven months after Trojan's defeat, the Mayor of Metro City decided to try rebuilding Sector 21, it took two years, but it's finally finished and is now Metro City's Corporate District. Sector 22 was commissioned halfway into development of Sector 21. They figure it will be finished by Spring of 2019 and it will be the Exchange District.

I sent Riley an email asking him and Rachel to meet me at the cafeteria tomorrow for lunch. It seemed to make more sense and be less assertive than asking them to come over for lunch.

The next day I went to the university and found a table in the cafeteria. I was enjoying a glass of iced tea when none other than Roger Illiak sat down across from me.

"Stephen?" he asked, "What are you doing here?"

I didn't want to tell him that I was planning on bringing the Power Rangers back together because for all I know, he might be trying to ascend even higher and become the next Prime Minister or something.

He might not even have figured out about the second part of the message yet. And if I was to tell him about my plans, how would he react. All it took was one little press conference to nearly ruin me.

If I told him about the Power Rangers, there's no telling what he'd do. With the resources he has at his disposal, he might even be able to learn their true identities.

"Oh, the Computer Science Professor called me and asked if could take over his morning class." I said.

"He couldn't find a substitute?" asked Roger.

"He didn't say," I said, "But there's no way I'd pass on the opportunity."

"Well," said Roger, "I came to visit my sons."

"Right. Charlie and Scott," I said, "How are they doing?"

"I couldn't find them," he said, "I sent them both an email, but I guess they're just busy with school."

"So you're just leaving then?"

"Yeah," he said, "I'll try again later."

"I think I'll have lunch before I leave."

"Okay," said Roger, "Good seeing you again."

"You too." I said.

He left. About 2 minutes later, Riley and Rachel came to sit down in the chairs on other side of the table.

"Wasn't that that Illiak guy?" asked Rachel.

"Unfortunately, yes," I said, "That's actually why I wanted to talk to you."

I pulled out a small handheld tablet. It's the newest model of Silversoft Tablets. The idea is that you can start doing something on your main computer, and then transfer that same session onto the tablet and keep working on it on the go.

So I was able to show them the two blue screen messages and explain to them what they were, how I came across them, even about how I figured out how to read them.

"The Crusaders?" whispered Riley, "Who are the Crusaders?"

"It sounds like they might be aliens," I said, "See here how it says that they've destroyed hundreds of other worlds?"

"And now they're coming to Earth?" asked Rachel, quietly.

"That's why I came here," I said, "I wanted to ask you two if you'd be willing to come back to active duty."

"Nobody messes with Earth and gets away with it," said Rachel, "And I'm only in school part time."

"You can't have the Power Rangers without their fearless leader," I said, "Count me in too."

"I figured you two would say something like that," I said with a smile, "Come to Headquarters after class today and you can test out the new and improved Digitizers."

"Improved?" asked Riley, "I like the sound of that."

"Oh yeah, that's right," I said, "I wanted to ask you if you knew how to contact Chloe."

"I do..." said Rachel, sounding uncomfortable.

"Why? What's wrong with her?" I asked.

"It would probably be easier if I just show you," said Rachel, "How about tonight after we test out the new Digitizers?"

"Okay." I said, very confused.

"You might want to stop at the bank at get some fives..." said Rachel.

When I got back from the university, Jenna and Oz were waiting for me down in Headquarters.

"There he is!" hollered Oz.

He ran up to me and gave me a hug that was made me feel like he was trying to squeeze the life out of me.

"It's good to see you too, Oz," I choked, "Please put me down."

"Oops. Sorry," he chuckled, "Was Jenna telling the truth about aliens?"

"We're not sure that they're aliens, but the messages we received seem to hint that they might be."

"Awesome." said Oz.

"Why is the world being in danger awesome?" asked Jenna.

"Because now I'm here to kick some ass."

"He has a point." said Riley, who must have just arrived.

Oz charged at Riley too, but instead he just held out his hand for a high five.

"Good to see you again." said Oz.

"What am I chopped liver?" asked Rachel.

"Actually liver is pretty good," said Oz, "My Mom used to make it when I was younger. She would bread it and bake it just like chicken breast..."

Oz sighed and then took a deep calming breath.

"I miss her." he said.

Oz's mother died last year. She had an allergic reaction to a new drug that her doctor thought might help her get back on her feet and start working again. It was very sudden. Oz's little sister, Heather was actually living with several people.

Amanda, Riley's older sister would take care of her sometimes. Sometimes she'd come stay with Jenna and I, other times Oz would look after her himself. Oz told us that he didn't want to raise her alone and that putting her in foster care was out of the question.

"Well, now that you're all here, follow me to the basement and I'll give each of you your codecs back." I said.

I led them down into Headquarters and had them line up, not unlike how they did when I first gave them their codecs.

Only this time, since the codecs weren't in the vault, I just went over to my desk and picked up the red, blue and yellow ones and brought them over to where their owners were standing.

The orange one and the green one were left unclaimed. I also made sure to pick up three of the new Digitizers for them.

"Here you go Oz," I said, handing him his yellow codec. "I'll explain the upgrades and new powers later, after we get Chloe back."

"It's good to be back." said Oz.

"Here's yours Rachel." I said. I stepping over to her.

"Thanks."

"And these ones are for you, Riley." I said, moving over to him and handing them to him.

"Back in action." he said, excitedly.

"Alright then," said Rachel, "I guess I can take you to Chloe now."


	2. Revenge

Spearmint Hippo, Sector 0  
Metro City, Canada  
July 9th, 2018  
8:38 PM

 **"Riley Bishop"**

The look on Silver's face when we led him to the Spearmint Hippo was priceless. He kept asking us if this was where Chloe was working, and we'd say, yes. Because she does work here. If I wasn't mistaken, Silver had no idea that this was a strip club. He probably thought it was some kind of bar or something.

After Chloe and Sawyer broke up, she decided to cut herself off from her father's money for a year and see how things went. She was miserable at first, but with our encouragement, she stuck with it.

She's been through quite a few jobs since, but it wasn't until she got this one that she really seemed happy. I don't think she cares how she earns the money, she's her own woman now, saving up to go to college like Rachel and I did.

We led Silver to a booth and a server walked over to us.

"Two drink minimum," he said, "What can I get you?"

"Oh, nothing for me, thanks." said Silver.

"Silver, you can't do that," I said, "You have to have at least two drinks."

"But I drove here." he whispered defensively.

"It doesn't have to have booze in it," said Oz, "Just get coffee or something."

"Fine," said Silver, "I'll just get a cup of coffee. One cream three sugars."

"Could I have a cosmo, please?" asked Rachel.

"I'll take whatever is on tap." said Oz.

"And I'll get a long island iced tea." I said.

"I'll be right back with those." said the server.

Silver took another confused look around the club and then scratched his head. He was stumped and it was hilarious to witness.

Our server came back and carefully set our drinks down on the table of our booth.

"Guys," said Silver, "This is a bar, right?"

"Among other things." said Rachel.

"And you said that Chloe is going to meet us here?" he asked.

"After her shift, yes." said Rachel.

"Alright everybody, welcome to the Spearmint Hippo!" came the DJ's voice over the speakers, "If you'll all turn your attention towards the stage, our first performer is about to come out."

"That should be her now." I said.

"Here she is, give a round of applause for... AMBER!" announced the DJ.

Chloe walked out onto the stage. She was wearing an outfit similar to the one she donned when the Tattoo Virus had been controlling her, only instead of black leather pants, this time she was wearing black leather boy shorts and fish net stockings.

"Oh dear lord..." muttered Silver.

"If you'll excuse me," said Oz, "I feel a very strong desire to slide a couple of $20s into the waistband of Amber's shorts. It's too strong! I can't resist!"

"In retrospect, we probably shouldn't have brought Oz with us." I said.

"Rachel, why is Chloe doing this?" asked Silver.

"I think she likes the attention, except here, they pay her," said Rachel, "Plus, you know, there's plenty of other pretty girls that work here. She's probably in Heaven."

"Rachel, Honey, if I bought you one of those poles, would you dance on it for me every year on my birthday?" I asked.

"Sure," said Rachel, "Just so long as you'd be okay with us only having sex once a year on my birthday." she said.

"Touché," I said, "I love you."

I know." she said.

She leaned over across the table and met me in the middle for quick kiss. It would've been longer, but Silver fake coughed loudly.

"Sorry," said Rachel, blushing, "I get carried away sometimes."

"You gotta give Chloe props on her stage name," I said, "I mean, Amber is fossilized tree sap and it's kind of orange in colour, just like how she's the orange ranger."

Chloe was now hanging upside down on the pole, suspended by her legs. She used her hands to slowly unbutton the leather vest and then threw it into the crowd of mesmerized patrons.

Oz leapt up in the crowd and ended being the one who caught Chloe's vest. It reminds me of how bridesmaids try to catch the bride's bouquet of flowers.

"I'm amazed that they haven't made pole dancing an Olympic sport yet," I said, "There's so many cool tricks these girls can do."

"Not mention the viewership for the live broadcasts would skyrocket." said Rachel.

After Chloe's shift was over she went backstage and put her street clothes back on. Then she walked over to our booth and sat down next to Rachel.

"How did you two manage to convince Silver to come here?" she giggled.

"They neglected to tell me where we were going." said Silver.

Oz came back over to the booth and squeezed himself onto the same bench as Chloe and Rachel.

"So, Amber," said Oz, with a cheeky grin, "How about we go in one of the private rooms upstairs and you give Daddy a lap dance?"

"First of all, stop calling yourself Daddy. Second of all, absolutely not. Third of all, I don't give dances to people I know," said Chloe, "Besides, I'm off duty."

"Well, can I still touch you?" said Oz, "I learned the hard way that strippers don't take too kindly to that."

"Are you saying you got beaten up and thrown out of a club by a bouncer?" I asked.

"No..." sighed Oz, "I'm saying I got beaten up by the stripper..."

Everyone, even Silver burst out into hysterical laughter. Regardless of whether or not Oz just made that story up to lighten the mood, that wasn't going to stop us from pointing at him and laughing.

"And, for the record Oz," said Chloe, "I'm not a stripper, I'm an exotic dancer."

"You say tomato, I say tomahto." said Oz.

"So what did you guys want to talk about?" asked Chloe.

"We should probably talk about it back at Headquarters." I said.

When we got back, Sawyer and Jenna greeted us at the door.

"Hey Chloe," said Sawyer, "Why do you have glitter all over you?"

"Never you mind." she said.

"Alright, now that all five of you are back, let's go down to Headquarters and I'll explain to you what sort of new powers you have." said Silver.

Once we were down in the familiar setting, it felt like we had traveled back in time three years. If only we could've gone back three years and a few days, then Marcus would be down in Headquarters with us.

Silver walked over to his desk and picked up the orange codec and one of the new Digitizers. He came to where we were standing and handed them to Chloe.

"First of all, all five of you are now equal in strength," said Silver, "I was finally able to trim down Sawyer's codec."

He went and sat down at the console, and then pulled up a simple little slideshow that explained the bare bones version of what he was saying as he said it.

"You already know that the size of the codec determines how much power it can generate. But what you may not know is that the more power a codec generates, the more abilities it can grant it's user." said Silver.

"Is that just an addendum to the whole the codecs will get stronger over time as our bond with them grows?" I asked.

"I suppose," said Silver, "The only thing is that your original Digitizers couldn't handle as much power as these new ones can."

"So the because the Digitizer is more advanced now, the codecs will be able to generate more power than they could before?" asked Oz.

"Exactly. And with more power comes more abilities," said Silver, "Each of you will now have access to a second Zord and an alternate weapon."

"Very cool." said Chloe.

"But that's not all," continued Silver, "Your codecs will now allow you to harness a synthetic element and channel it during battle."

Silver indicated with his hands that he wanted us to line up side by side again.

"Sawyer," said Silver moving in front of him, "Your codec allows you to channel the power of ice."

"Awesome." he said, examining his Digitizer curiously.

Silver proceeded down the line, much like how he did when he first gave us our codecs.

"Chloe," said Silver, stopping in front of her, "Your codec allows you to channel the power of Earth."

"You mean like, dirt?" she asked.

"No, more like giant rocks and earthquakes."

"I guess that sounds pretty cool." she said.

"Oz," said Silver, stopping in front of him, "Your codec allows you to channel the power of electricity."

"Well, I must say, Silver. That's a shocking revelation." said Oz, snickering.

"Don't make me regret giving you your codec back." said Silver.

He continued moving down the line until he stopped in front of Rachel.

"Rachel," said Silver, "Your codec allows you to channel the power of water."

"Oh perfect..." she sighed.

"Don't worry, you'll be controlling it. You can't drown in it." said Silver.

"Doesn't make me feel any better." said Rachel.

"Lastly, Riley," said Silver, reaching the end of the line, "Your codec allows you to channel the power of fire."

"Nice!" I said.

"Your new Digitizers have a new morphing call," said Silver, standing in front all of us equally so that we see him, "You say your ranger designation, and then 'Cyber Power'. The morphing action is still the same though."

"I'll give them a demonstration," said Sawyer, stepping forward, "Purple Ranger! CYBER POWER!"

When Sawyer pushed the button on his Digitizer, I could see a swirling tornado of 0s and 1s come from out of his codec and encircle him.

It kept swirling faster and faster becoming more and more narrow as it did so until it collided with him in a small explosion. He had his purple ranger suit on now. He leapt high into the air, rotating slightly as he rose.

By the time he reached the height of his jump, he had his helmet on too. During his descent, the strange dimension faded from around him until he landed back on the floor of Headquarters.

"Thank you, Sawyer," said Silver, "Very nice demonstration."

"So what do we do first?" asked Chloe.

"Actually, before I even tell you about why I gathered you all here," said Silver, "I have a special mission for all of you. It's going to be hard, but I need you to go inside Cyberspace, find the Master Codec and touch Marcus' codec to it."

"Why?" asked Purple.

"It's the only way to reset it," said Silver, "The Phoenix sacrificed itself to undo all the damage Trojan caused during his imprisonment, but it couldn't reset the green codec."

"How do we even find the Master Codec?" I asked.

"Your codecs should be able to lead you right to it," said Silver, "Like a miniature homing device."

"So do you have to use that vacuum cleaner thing on us?" asked Oz.

"Not anymore," said Silver, "Your new Digitizers can actually teleport you directly into Cyberspace now. Just make sure you're in ranger form when you do it."

"Alright then," I said, "Let's give it a try."

They all nodded at me.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Ready!" said Rachel, Oz and Chloe.

"Red Ranger! CYBER POWER!" I shouted.

"Blue Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Rachel.

"Yellow Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Oz.

"Orange Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Chloe.

"Very nice," said Silver, "Now, if you're ready, try to think about the heart of Cyberspace as your destination."

We did as he instructed and a new sensation I had never felt before took over my entire body. Visually, it looked exactly the same as teleporting, but it felt completely different.

I would imagine that was my body transforming into digital information and transferring inside the alternate dimension where we draw our powers from. It felt very peculiar. It half stung and half tingled.

Before too long we arrived inside what could only be Cyberspace. It's one of those things that's impossible to confuse for something else.

I noticed that we were able to maintain our ranger form while inside Cyberspace. I vaguely remember Marcus telling me that while he was inside Cyberspace looking to destroy the anchor and reverse the Hourglass Virus' spell, he tried morphing, but it didn't work. This was probably another side effect of our new Digitizers.

"Whoa." I said, "Does everyone else feel that?"

My wrist felt like I had just dipped it into liquid nitrogen.

"My wrist is freezing." said Purple.

"Maybe it means that we're not very close to the Master Codec?" asked Blue.

"Like a literal version of that hot and cold game." said Orange.

"Does it make your nipples hard, Amber?" teased Yellow.

"Shut up." she said.

I would imagine that if I could see her face, she would've rolled her eyes at him.

"How fortuitous..." said a very deep but familiar voice.

From somewhere up above us, what appeared to be a Power Ranger landed right behind us. We whipped around quickly and my heart skipped a beat.

It was the Renegade. But, that's impossible, isn't it? The Renegade was Sawyer, and once I used the Phoenix's power to cleanse his codec, the Renegade should have been destroyed, right?

It looked like Sawyer in ranger form, except almost all the colour seemed to have been drained away. It was almost like someone reduced the saturation of the purple in the suit.

"Finally, I have a chance to get my revenge!" it snapped.

"How is this possible?" asked Purple, "Riley destroyed you three years ago!"

"He didn't destroy me, he just kicked me out of the codec." it said.

"So you've been waiting in here ever since?" I asked.

"My plan was to learn how to manipulate the digital energy in Cyberspace and carry on Trojan's legacy," it said, "But it's not as easy as it sounds. I never made much progress."

"Did you come here to fight us, or remind of us of how much you suck?" asked Yellow.

"I see your back bone is still as strong as ever." said the Renegade.

I wasn't in the mood to listen to him. Second only to Trojan, the Renegade was my arch enemy. He's the complete opposite of me and everything that I stand for. Just listening to him talk made it feel like my blood had started to boil.

"Rangers?" came Silver's voice, "Can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear." said Purple.

"Outstanding" said Silver, "If you want to try out your new weapons, just flick the small switch on your Digitizers and summon your weapons like usual. The position of the switch determines which weapon you'll summon."

We did as he said.

"Download weapon!" we called in unison.

Instead of my usual sword, my alternate weapon was a katana. Rachel's new weapon was a large circular blade that was almost as tall as she was. Oz's new weapon was a shield, Chloe's alternate weapon was a whip, and Sawyer's alternate weapon was a smaller, one handed version of his scythe. I think they're called sickles.

"Download weapon!" called the Renegade.

"Wait," said Orange, "Why can he still do that?"

"I was created from a codec, Blondie," said the Renegade, "Just because I'm trapped in here now doesn't change that."

"You're trapped in here, and you're going to die in here." I said.

"If I remember, none of you were strong enough to defeat me."

"Things have changed." I said.

The Renegade ran forwards and swung at me with his scythe. I blocked it with my katana and sliced at him a few times too, but he blocked them all.

Next he ran towards Blue, she seemed a little confused about how to use her new weapon properly, but seemed to pick up on it pretty fast. She got a few good hits in, but only one of them actually hit him.

He ran towards Yellow next. Yellow held his shield up in front of him and it reflected all his blows. Then Yellow charged forward and rammed the Renegade hard with his new shield.

He fell to the ground, and Orange used this opportunity to get a few hits in with her whip. The Renegade caught the last attack by grabbing the whip and threw Orange aside.

Now it was purple's turn. They locked weapons and snarled at each other.

"Give me back my body!"

"It was never yours, you freak!" roared Sawyer, "I was in it long before you came along!"

Sawyer overpowered the Renegade by disarming him. Then he delivered a devastating uppercut. The Renegade flew a few feet into the air and then crashed down on the floor, writhing in pain.

"Impressive." he said, getting to his feet.

"We told you," I said, "Things have changed."

"Maybe we'll call it a draw." said the Renegade.

"Oh hell no!" snapped Blue, "A draw means we tied."

"I was holding back." said the Renegade.

"Bullshit." said Purple.

Just then something walked up behind Purple and stabbed him in the back. It wasn't fatal, because his suit took all the damage. He whipped around and saw another Renegade standing behind him.

Then when all of us looked back to where the Renegade had originally been standing, we saw that he was gone.

That means there isn't two of them, just the one that tried to use some sort of illusion as a distraction.

"You just don't learn, do you?" asked Purple.

He grabbed the Renegade by the collar and lifted him high into the air, then he sliced and diced him with his sickle.

"You'll NEVER defeat us!" sneered Purple.

The Renegade fell to the floor and didn't move. He was finally dead. I could see it. It looked very similar to how Trojan died three years ago.

"That felt good," said Purple, "Like a giant weight was just lifted."

The Renegade disintegrated and the tiny streams of binary flew away until they were eventually absorbed by Cyberspace. There was no way he'd come back from that.

"Man," said Orange, "Some guys just can't take no for an answer."

"Come on," I said, "We've still got to find the Master Codec."

It's hard to quantify how long we had been walking for after that. No matter what time of day it might be on Earth, it looked exactly the same in Cyberspace.

Our only clue for whether or not we were even going in the right direction was our codecs. They would produce that icy cold feeling when we were really far away, turn warmer when we got closer and then when we were REALLY close, they start would vibrating and beeping.

Direction was also not helpful in Cyberspace. Without stars or a sun, there was no way to determine which direction we needed to go or even what direction we were traveling in.

At one point, our codecs started beeping and vibrating so hard that it was distracting. We kept walking in that direction, only to have them stop beeping and vibrating a few feet later.

"I don't get it," said Yellow, "How can we find the Master Codec if it keeps moving?"

"I don't know," I said, "And Silver doesn't know either. If he did, he would've just sent us right to it."

I decided to take a moment to think, so I closed my eyes and lowered my head. It looked the others had done the same thing as me. After a few seconds, I could've sworn I heard a voice inside my head.

"There is no Master Codec. It never existed in the first place."

"Then where did our codecs come from?" I asked the voice.

"They were created directly from Cyberspace."

"But three years ago, when we fought Trojan, we couldn't morph because we thought he drained the Master Codec." I told the voice.

"You were only half right," said the voice, "The codecs draw power directly from Cyberspace and then tap in to the Morphin' Grid to turn you into Power Rangers."

"So the reason we couldn't morph was because the codecs didn't know where to look for Cyberspace?" I asked the voice.

"Yes," said the voice, "Now you understand."

"So if there's no Master Codec, then how do we reset the green one?" I asked.

"It has already been reabsorbed," said the voice, "When someone worthy of claiming the green codec surfaces, they will be able to summon it like how the bearer of the orange codec did."

"Thanks," I said, "But who are you?"

"I'm your codec, Riley," said the voice, "I can speak to you by projecting my thoughts into your mind because I'm able to generate more power now."

"Cool." I said.

I opened my eyes again and looked up at the others.

"We can leave guys," I said, "Apparently, there never was a Master Codec."

"Oh thank god..." sighed Blue, "I'm so glad I'm not the only heard that voice."

We stood together in our five person formation and proceeded to teleport by thinking of Headquarters. That weird painful tingly sensation came back in full force as we reconfigured ourselves into flesh and bone back in the human world.

When we returned, Silver looked at us expectantly.

"There is no Master Codec," I said, "Our codecs can talk now."

"Fascinating," he gasped, "What else did they tell you?"

"Nothing you don't already know," said Sawyer, "Everything you've told us so far was right, except about the Master Codec. Each of our codecs was formed separately and came to our world when they felt they were needed."

"But because Trojan hadn't really emerged as a threat yet, instead of seeking us out, they stayed dormant until you found them." said Oz.

"The reason we couldn't morph during the battle against Trojan wasn't because he absorbed the Master Codec," said Chloe, "It was because he absorbed Cyberspace, which threw off its coordinates."

"All we needed to do to reset the green codec was return it to Cyberspace," I said, "If and when someone worthy shows up, the green codec will summoned by them, like how the orange one was."

"If the codecs can speak, why haven't they done it before now?" asked Silver.

"Because in order to speak, they need more power than the original Digitizers could handle," said Sawyer, "I'm not surprised about that, actually. My codec could always talk."

"That's because you didn't have a Digitizer to keep it in check," said Silver, "So it was able to generate enough power to speak."

"And develop that malicious personality." said Sawyer.

Silver opened his mouth to speak, but he closed it when he saw that above us, near the ceiling, a little ball of energy was pulsating and flashing. It gradually grew larger and larger.

Now we could see that in the middle of the ball, something was now visible. All we could see was the silhouette, because it was on the inside of the ball of energy. It seemed to be a person.

They were curled up into the fetal position and suspended in midair inside the ball of energy. When the ball of energy disappeared, the person was left behind and then fell a few feet to the ground. As I got closer to them, I saw that it was a girl...


	3. Traveler

Headquarters, Sector 0  
Metro City, Canada  
July 10th, 2018  
2:09 AM

 **"Rachel Parker"**

The girl was naked, but she didn't seem to realize it until she looked down.

"Does everyone else see the hot naked chick?" asked Oz.

"Yes, Oz, we see her." said Silver.

Now that she knew she was naked, she covered herself up and blushed.

"Okay good." said Oz.

The girl carefully walked backwards so that nothing would accidentally get uncovered while she moved. Then she reached onto one of the nearby couches and grabbed a blanket to wrap around herself.

"Stupid medallion," she muttered to herself, "Would it have killed them to put a warning label somewhere on the packaging telling people that your clothes won't travel with you?"

"Excuse me, Miss?" asked Silver, "Who are you? And what are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for the Power Rangers." she said.

"Chloe why don't you teleport to your place really quick and grab her some clothes?" I suggested, "She shouldn't have to wear that blanket."

"I'd be okay if she didn't wear it." said Oz.

I was already within striking range, so I gave him a quick back hand to smarten him up. He's been doing better with stuff like that, but every now and then, despite his best efforts, sometimes he falls back on his old ways.

Chloe reappeared less than a minute later. She walked toward the girl and handed her some clothes. The girl looked at us and then looked around. Riley, Silver, Oz and Sawyer all turned around after catching on to what she was proposing.

The girl was beautiful. She was skinny and pale. Her left eye was blue and her right eye was hazel. She had long, messy dark brown hair and a prominent nose. She looked very familiar to me for some reason.

The clothes Chloe gave her were a bit too big on her, because Chloe isn't quite as skinny as her, but they would have to do for now.

"Can we turn back around now?" asked Oz.

"Yup, she's good." I said.

Silver led the girl over to the lounge area and indicated for her to sit on one of the couches. I sat beside her, it was weird, but I felt a strange feeling of attachment to her.

"What's your name?" asked Silver.

"Yuna," said the girl, "Yuna Murphy."

"And you said you were looking for the Power Rangers?" asked Silver.

"Yes." she said.

"Well, you found us," said Riley, "Are you friend or foe?"

"Oh, friend. Definitely friend." said Yuna.

"Where did you come from?" I asked, "We saw this ball of energy and it almost looked like you came from it."

"I did," said Yuna, "I'm from the future."

"The future?" asked Sawyer.

"Yes," said Yuna, "I traveled back in time from the year 2041."

"Prove it, Future Girl" said Oz, "Who's Prime Minister of Canada in 2041?"

"Oz, that's not going to prove anything," I said, "She could say whatever she wants."

"There is no Prime Minister in 2041," said Yuna, "I remember reading somewhere that the last Prime Minister we had was only in office for a few months in 2021. I think his last name was Illiak."

"By any chance, was his first name Roger?" asked Silver.

"That sounds right." said Yuna.

"I know him," said Silver, "We go way back. He's never been the sharpest knife in the drawer. He accidentally made everyone hate me by not thinking before he spoke."

"Okay," said Riley, "Let's say that we believe you. Why did you come back to 2018?"

"To help the Power Rangers," said Yuna, "In the future I came from, the Power Rangers died battling the Crusaders in 2021."

"How did you find us?" I asked.

"After the Power Rangers died, their identities became public knowledge," said Yuna, "I learned about this place by reading old newspaper articles. The medallion I used only moves through time."

"Which means that you were already standing in the same place that you appeared, just 23 years later?" asked Silver.

"It was only a pile of rubble when I found it." said Yuna.

"You said that the Crusaders kill us in 2021?" asked Sawyer, "Who are the Crusaders?"

"A demonic army," said Yuna, "They have hovercrafts that are capable of interdimensional travel. They pick a dimension as a target and then they send their soldiers there to kill everything."

"That's horrible!" I sobbed, "Demons or not, they must have a reason for killing millions of innocent people."

"That I don't know," said Yuna, "I was only a year old when they killed the Power Rangers."

"I think I know," said Silver, "Remember the message? Our ignorance of the Teachings of Psion is an affront to them."

"The teachings of who now?" asked Oz.

"My thoughts exactly." said Chloe.

"So Yuna, now that you've warned us," said Riley, "I would imagine you're heading back to 2041?"

"I can't," she said, "Normally, people use these medallions to go back a couple of hours or maybe a year or two."

"Then how did you manage to get here?" asked Oz.

"I had to supercharge it," she said, "But once that charge runs out, there's no way to fill it back up because they're disposable."

"That doesn't sound like a very reliable product." I said.

"The Crusaders killed over 95% of Earth's population. There are full-fledged time machines, but they require some serious power and a full team of scientists to use properly," said Yuna, "But before that, anyone could walk into a store and buy one of these medallions for a couple of credits."

"Doesn't that mean that you're stuck here?" asked Chloe.

"I knew this would happen before I even bought the medallion," said Yuna, "But if you can defeat the Crusaders before they kill you, I'll just fade away as history is rewritten."

"Won't you miss home?" asked Sawyer.

"You haven't seen the future I came from," said Yuna, "Consider yourselves lucky. The whole planet is dead and barren."

The oh so familiar and unwelcome sirens started blaring.

"I thought those sirens could only detect viruses?" asked Sawyer.

"They can detect anything that could potentially be a threat," said Silver, "It's just that we've never faced anything other than viruses."

"Is there trouble?" asked Jenna, running down into the basement.

"It looks like the threat is coming from Sector 5." said Silver.

"That's where the largest radio station in the city is." said Riley.

"Maybe they're planning on using it to broadcast the message they sent to the intelligence agencies on a larger scale?" said Jenna.

"I'll come with you," said Yuna, "I want to help."

"No offense," I said, "But if you're not a Power Ranger like us, you'll only get in the way."

The five of us stood together in our usual five person formation.

"Ready?" asked Riley.

"Ready!" said the others.

"Red Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Riley.

"Blue Ranger! CYBER POWER!" I shouted.

"Yellow Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Oz.

"Orange Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Chloe.

"Purple Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Sawyer.

When I pushed the button on my Digitizer, I could see a swirling tornado of 0s and 1s come from out of my codec and encircle me.

It kept swirling faster and faster becoming more and more narrow as it did so until it collided with me in a small explosion. I had my blue ranger suit on now. I leapt high into the air, rotating slightly as I rose.

By the time I reached the height of my jump, I had my helmet on too. During my descent, the strange dimension faded from around me until I landed back on the floor of Headquarters.

I looked around and saw that we were all in ranger form now.

"That was awesome!" gasped Yuna.

Did she see the whole spectacle? If she did, then that means she must have the Cyber Gene. But yet, if she did, shouldn't Marcus' codec have been summoned to her from Cyberspace when she first arrived here?

"Get going rangers," said Jenna, "This is the perfect opportunity to try using your new elemental powers."

We stood together in the five person formation and proceeded to teleport. We shot up through the ceiling of Headquarters and soared through the dusk sky.

We arrived outside of the radio station. This was the same one that Marcus used to work at with Sebastian. Sebastian kept the show going for about a year until he graduated. After that I stopped tuning in.

The radio station was being attacked by strange creatures. They had powdery pale blue skin and were wearing silver and black jumpsuits. On their faces they had four red eyes that seemed to glow menacingly.

Their eyes lacked pupils or irises, so they were just pure red and beady. Instead of noses, they had two snake like slits. Below the slits were four strange tentacles that grew down and covered their mouths.

"What are those things?" asked Yellow.

"They must be from the Crusader army." said Orange.

One of the creatures turned to look at us. It pointed at us, and I saw that on their hands, they only had three fingers. The other creatures all turned to look at us too.

The creatures were making a bizarre sound. I would imagine they were yelling at us. The noise echoed and undulated, giving it an eerie quality that made my spine tingle.

"Download weapon!" I called, flicking the switch on my Digitizer.

My ring blade materialized in my hands and I dashed forward to confront the creepers.

"I hereby dub these creeps, 'Creepers', because they creep me out!" I announced.

"I was planning on calling them four eyes!" said Red.

"Rachel," came Jenna's voice in my head, "To activate your element, just announce its name out loud to start channeling it."

"Okay then," I said, "Water!"

My hands started glowing and bubbles started emanating from my fingers. Because I was holding my weapon, the bubbles moved from my hands and started coming from my weapon.

The bubbles spread across my entire weapon, which was cool because it was ring that was almost as tall as me. I suppose that the idea is that now when I attack, my element will give it a bit of extra oomph.

"Hey guys! Check this out!" I called.

I spun around on my toe like a ballerina and hit the nearest Creeper three times. On the third hit, a wave of water send it flying backwards. I looked down at my weapon and saw that the bubbles were gone.

"Nice one!" said Yellow, running over to the one I had knocked back.

He had his good old hammer out and it was now crackling with electricity and he charged forward. Yellow jumped into the air and brought the hammer crashing down onto the Creeper.

My attack had already made it wet, so the electricity from Yellow's attack was particularly effective. The Creeper collapsed to the floor, and then melted into a puddle of powdery blue goop.

"Yuck!" whined Orange, "That's disgusting!"

"My turn now!" shouted Red excitedly.

His katana was on fire. It actually looked very similar to the burning sword he got when using the Phoenix Armour. Pity he doesn't have that anymore. It was really cool. But I suppose that since the Phoenix sacrificed itself, there's no way for that to happen anymore.

One of the Creepers' arms stretched a good five feet forward to try and grab at Red, but he sliced the arm off with his flaming katana and then closed the gap to slice the body in half too. The body melted into a pile of goo like the others.

"That's nothing," said Orange, "Look what I can do!"

She had her mace held high above her head. Small clumps of dirt were orbiting the head of mace. Orange extended the weapon into flail mode and swung it around her head a few times before slamming it down in front of her.

From the impact zone, a line of massive, 20' tall spikes erupted from the ground and sent a cluster of Creepers flying into the air. The spikes collapsed, sending small pieces of shrapnel into the airborne Creepers. When they hit the ground, each of them melted into a pile of goo.

"I've got the last ones." said Purple.

You know how when it's really could outside, you can see your breath? Well, that's what his sickle looked like as he lunged towards the last two Creepers.

Before he had even landed, Purple threw his sickle and it went right through both Creepers and they froze solid. When he landed, he kicked the first one and it shattered. Then he picked up his sickle again and threw it at the second one.

"Great job everybody!" said Silver, "Keep battling like that and the Crusaders will regret ever coming here!"

The piles of goop and the shattered ice disappeared as from somewhere up in the sky, something came crashing down. It looked like a beefier, tougher, more sinister version of the Creepers, only it had a different outfit.

"The Commander sent me down here to kill you."

"What are you supposed to be?" asked Red.

"I am an agent of the Crusaders!" it announced, "Not that it really matters since you'll all be dead soon!"

It elongated both of its arms and then sprung into the air by stretching its legs too. From above us, it unleashed a flurry of punches with its rubber arms that sent us all flying back a little.

It landed back on the ground and stretched its arms like a whip and assaulted us with hit while we were still on the ground. It just kept lashing us over and over again.

"Hey!" shouted a voice, "Leave them alone!"

It was Yuna! It looked like she had 'borrowed' Silver's car to drive to Sector 5. I suppose that because she's from Metro City in her future, she already knows her way around. She jumped into the air and came down to deliver a flying punch against the agent.

"Yuna!" I groaned, "Get out of here! It's not safe!"

"I'm not going anywhere." she said.

Yuna ran over to the stop sign at the corner of the street, which was damaged in the battle, and pulled it up out of the ground.

While the agent advanced on us, she got behind it and hit it as hard as she could with the stop sign. It made a sickening clang sound, but didn't really do much to the agent.

The agent turned towards Yuna and grabbed the stop sign out of her hand.

"That wasn't very nice!" it jeered.

"Neither are you." said Yuna.

Without even having to move, the agent used its stretchy arms to pick the stop back up and throw it far away.

"You're not worth my time." said the agent, turning back on us.

Yuna's interference gave us all just enough time to get back to our feet.

"Rangers," came Silver's voice, "Summon the VR and see if your more powerful codecs can finish it off!"

Our weapons disintegrated and turned into a flurry of data. The five different swarms then combined and reshaped until they solidified into the Virus Reaper.

"Virus Reaper, online!" we announced in unison.

I grabbed one of the handles as we took aim. The familiar laser sight showed us the path the bolt would follow once we pulled the trigger.

"Four…" said Purple.

"Three…" said Yellow.

"Two…" said Orange.

"One…" said Red.

"FIRE!" I shouted.

With an electronic twanging sort of sound, the VR shot the bolt. There was a loud boom as the bolt broke the sound barrier.

The agent looked curiously at the bolt as it raced towards him, but it didn't move or even try to get out of its way. Instead it just stood there and let the bolt pierce right through its chest.

As the bolt returned to us, the agent collapsed to the ground and melted down into that sickly pile of blue goop.

"The Almighty Psion commands that you rise again!" came a shrill female voice that almost sounded like it was being projected from somewhere up above.

The pile of goop glowed brightly and then proceeded to transform into a massive version of the same agent that we had just defeated. Looks like it was ready for round two!

"Silver," said Red, "We need the Zords!"

"I'll send your new ones," said Silver, "This will give you a chance to see what they're capable of."

"Summon them exactly like how you summoned the original ones," said Jenna, "Their names are Mark 1 thru 6. Riley, yours is Mark 6 and Sawyer, yours is Mark 1."

"Download Data Zord!" called Purple, "Mark 1!"

"Download Data Zord!" called Orange, "Mark 2!"

"Download Data Zord!" called Yellow, "Mark 3!"

"Download Data Zord!" I called, "Mark 5!"

"Download Data Zord!" called Red, "Mark 6!"

The Mark Zords were based on vehicles, unlike the original ones, which based on animals.

The purple one resembled a futuristic stealth plane, the orange one resembled a sports car, the yellow one resembled an excavator, mine resembled an ambulance and the red one resembled an enormous semi truck.

"Commence V2 Megazord transformation sequence!" announced Red.

We all hopped into the cockpits of our respective Zords. Just like with the original one, as the Zords began to assemble themselves, it felt like I lifted up above the action to observe the transformation, even though I hadn't really moved anywhere.

Yellow's excavator became the right arm, with the digging arm being the Megazord's actual arm. Orange's racer became the Megazord's head. My ambulance became the torso. Red's semi became the legs. Finally, Purple's stealth plane became the left arm.

"Sawyer, it looks like with these Zords, yours is the one that can substitute for other missing components." said Silver.

"I think the green Zord would normally be the left arm," said Jenna, "But since the green codec hasn't chosen a new partner yet, yours was able to take its place."

Now that the transformation was complete, it was like I had been dreaming everything I had just seen. I opened my eyes and found that I was still sitting at my station in the Megazord's control room.

"Cyberspace Megazord V2, online!" we announced in unison.

"I have been given a second chance to punish you for your sacrilege!" roared the agent.

"Alright everyone, let's see what this baby can do!" said Red.

"Purple," said Yellow, "Help me deliver a one-two punch on this creep!"

"Yellow," said Purple, "It would be my genuine pleasure."

Both of them used their control panels to deliver a left lead and then followed it up with a right cross. The agent stumbled and then retaliated by unleashing another flurry of rapid stretchy punches.

"Where Psion needs to punch, I am His fist!" exclaimed the agent.

"Rangers," said Silver, "You can also use your codecs to let the Megazord channel your synthetic elements!"

"If that's the case, I think we should use your ice power, Purple," said Red, "See if you can channel it so that will spray like a flamethrower all over our punchy friend."

"Ice." said Purple, using his control panel.

The Megazord held out its left hand and a jet of frigid air shot from the palm and sprayed the agent from top to bottom. It thrashed around to try and fend off the frozen jet, but the cold prevented it from moving.

"Care to finish it off, Orange?" asked Red.

"I was hoping you'd ask." she said.

Orange pressed some buttons on her control panel and the Megazord delivered a powerful headbutt that shattered the agent into several pieces, which disappeared shortly after they hit the ground.

A few minutes later, after the Megazord was gone, we grabbed Yuna by the arm and teleported back to Headquarters with her in tow.

"Power down." we said together.

Silver escorted Yuna back over to the lounge and glared at her disapprovingly.

"I understand that you're stuck here and I admire your drive to help those in need," said Silver, "But that doesn't change the fact that what you did was reckless and irresponsible."

"I survived the wastelands of my future for twenty years before I came here!" snapped Yuna, "Besides, you don't get to lecture me; you're not my father!"

"No I'm not," said Silver, "But, since you currently live in my house, I am your landlord, which means that I have authority over you."

Yuna's fell to her knees sobbing silently.

"What did I say?" he asked confused.

Yuna got back up and threw her arms around him while still crying.

"I'm just not used to people being mean to me because they care," she said, "People where I come from are usually just mean for the sake of being mean."

"So you didn't just come back to help us win," I said, "You came back to change the future for everyone's sake, including your own?"

"Yes," said Yuna, "There's no way for me to describe just how horrible the future is. I was robbed of a childhood because of the world I was born into."

"I get it now," said Riley, "If we defeat the Crusaders, you might get a second chance at life where you can experience everything you missed out on."

"Exactly." said Yuna, "That's why I specifically chose this year to return to. Based on all my research, 2018 is a massive point of convergence."

"A point of what?" asked Oz.

"Convergence. It means that many, many different events all took place in 2018 that resulted in the future she came from," said Silver, "If what's she saying is true, all we should have to do is change the outcomes of enough of those events and we'll rewrite history."

"You were very brave to come here, Yuna." said Jenna.

"Maybe a little too brave," said Yuna, "I'm sorry I stole your car, Silver."

"Apology accepted." said Silver.

"If only I had been able to write down all the events I learned about in my research," said Yuna, "I was being pursued by eliminators and had to run."

"What are eliminators?" asked Chloe.

"A team of agents that Commander Astrid employs to hunt down all the survivors of the main assault." said Yuna.

"Do you remember any of the events that we need to change?" asked Riley.

"Some, but not every single one," said Yuna, "I just hope that the ones I do remember will be enough to make a difference."

"You've given us a huge opportunity as it is," said Riley, "I think that if we all work together, we just might be able to pull this off."

Yuna nodded at him. I could've sworn I saw the faintest hint of a smile on her face.


	4. Gridiron

Sector 13 High School, Football Field  
Metro City, Canada  
July 11th, 2018  
3:38 PM

 **"Heath "Oz" Ostreicher"**

I love my job. I'm the assistant football coach for Sector 13 High School. As Coach John Wrigley's favourite student during all four years I played quarterback, I didn't even have to go to college.

My grades weren't the greatest, but I did end up earning myself a full ride with a scholarship, thanks to my sheer awesomeness on the field. I was really excited to go, but then Coach Wrigley offered me a job as the assistant coach.

My new dream was to eventually become head coach one day after Coach Wrigley retires. He's almost 61, but knowing him, he'll do whatever he can to hang on to that job for as long as the school board will let him.

He's a great coach and he loves coaching, so in a situation like that, it's hard to even think of anyone besides him coaching the Jets.

Canadian football is a little different than American football. The biggest difference is the size of the playing field. In American football, the fields are 100 yards long by 53⅓ yards wide, but in Canada, the fields are 110 yards long by 65 yards wide.

In Canadian football, each team has twelve players, as opposed to eleven in American football. Lastly, there are only three downs in Canadian football, compared to American football, which has four downs. This results in a more pass and kick oriented game since that are fewer downs available for short yardage running play.

"Alright boys! Good hustle!" I shouted through my megaphone.

"Ostreicher, you got a minute?" asked Wrigley.

"Keep that up! I'm stepping away for a few minutes!" I shouted into my megaphone again.

"Yes sir." I said to him.

"I want you to be head coach for tonight's game," said Wrigley, "It's my wife and I's 35th anniversary tonight, so I'm taking her out to Alexandra's, the same restaurant where we had our first date."

"How romantic." I said, patting him on the shoulder.

"She's the love of my life," he said happily, "As you might imagine, she'd kill me if I cancel on her, and I don't plan to. Will you do it?"

"I'd be honoured, sir." I said.

"Good man," said Wrigley, "I know they'll be in good hands. Just make sure to win or you're fired!"

I stared at him with a look of horror and panic.

"I'm just kidding, of course!" he chuckled, "We've already secured our place in the playoffs this year. As long as my boys play their best, I'm happy."

"You can count on me, sir."

Tonight's game was at 9:00, but it was a home game, meaning we didn't have to go anywhere.

"Alright," said Wrigley, "I've got some paperwork to do, so I'll leave you to it."

When I came back to the football field, I was horrified to see that Chris O'Neill, the quarterback was pinning one of the linebackers, Kyle Evans, to the ground and hitting him repeatedly with his helmet.

"What the hell is going on here!?" I roared, running over to break them up.

I bodily shoved Chris off of Kyle and he rolled a few feet away, gasping for breath. I looked down at Kyle. Chris had taken Kyle's helmet and beaten him to a bloody pulp with it. Kyle let out a weak moan.

"Jesus Christ..." I muttered, ripping a piece of my shirt off and carefully putting it under Kyle's nose to catch some of the blood.

I looked around at the other players.

"The hell is your problem, boys!?" I snarled, "Can't you see he needs a doctor!? Make yourselves useful and call an ambulance!"

They all snapped out of their shock and did as I asked. Once the ambulance came to take Kyle away, I had the players all line up on the field so I could figure out what the hell happened.

"Chris, why did you attack him?" I asked, "Did he say or do anything to set you off? I know you've got a bit of temper, but I've never seen you do anything like this before."

"I have no idea, Coach," said Chris, sobbing, "We were just running drills like you told us to and then the next thing I knew I just felt so angry. Angrier than I've ever felt in my life. I don't know why."

"Did anyone see something?" I asked.

"All I saw was O'Neill start screaming and tackling Evans to the ground," said Davis, another linebacker, "We all just stood there like morons and watched."

"Am I suspended, Coach?" asked Chris.

"I'm not going to suspend you", I said, "At least not until I can prove that you did it."

Chris wiped a large bead of sweat from his forehead and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Head on home," I said, "I'll see you all back here at 8:00 for warm up. O'Neill, you stick around. We're going out for a little field trip."

Now before you freak out, Chris is 18 years old, which in Canada means he's considered an adult. He can drink, vote and do all that great stuff. I had an idea that I wanted to try.

If something took control of Chris' body and made him attack Kyle, then whatever did it might also have worked it's mojo to make it so that Chris doesn't remember what set him off.

So I'm bringing him to the Spearmint Hippo and buying him a dance with Chloe, or as she's know in the club, "Amber". Maybe a drink or two and the magic powers of a beautiful woman will help loosen him up and trigger some memories.

"Coach," said Chris as we parked in the parking lot half an hour later, "Is this a strip club?"

"Yup." I said.

"You're taking me to a strip club?" asked Chris incredulously.

"Yes, and I'm buying you one dance." I said.

"Oh man, this is gonna be awesome!" he said, sounding ecstatic, "I thought you wanted to see me after practice cause I was in trouble or something."

"Chris, we're here on business," I said, "If something took control of your body back on the field, I need to figure out what it is and stop it before someone else gets hurt."

"Then why did you bring me here?" asked Chris.

"You ever seen The Hangover?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, I love that movie!" cheered Chris, "It's not a purse, it's a satchel! Indiana Jones carries one!"

"Focus O'Neill!" I said, "Remember, I'm here with you as your coach, not your friend."

"Okay." he said.

"Now, in The Hangover, remember how they got so drunk that couldn't remember what they did the night before?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"I'm bringing you here to see if a couple drinks and a lap dance if enough to help you remember if you saw anything before you attacked Evans."

"Are you sure that'll even work?" asked Chris.

"No," I said, "But if it doesn't at least you still get a lap dance out of it."

"You're awesome, has anyone ever told you before?" said Chris.

"Yes, as a matter of fact," I said, "Now, you wait here a minute. I'll be right back."

Chris nodded at me and stayed outside near the door as I went inside to find Amber. I pulled the door open and flashed my ID to the bouncer. After he let me pass, I scoured the club until I found her.

"Hey Chloe!" I called to her.

"Oz, ixnay on my amenay!" she whispered loudly.

"Sorry, force of habit," I said, "I need a favour."

"No I'm not reaching into your pants!" she exclaimed, "Seriously, has any girl ever fallen for that before?"

"Once or twice, but only after we already did the deed," I said, "No, I need a different favour."

"Alright, fine what is it?"

"I brought the quarterback of the football team with me," I said, "Earlier today during practice, he attacked the linebacker and almost killed him."

"You brought a kid here?" she said questionably.

"He's 18, alright! Give me some credit, would you?" I said, "Anyways, after I broke them up, the quarterback had no memory of attacking anyone. If one of the Crusaders' agents is behind this, I need to know if Chris saw anything."

"So what do you want me to do?" asked Chloe.

"Give him a dance," I said, "Use your advanced interrogation techniques and see if you can help him remember anything at all."

"Normally I'd say this is a stupid idea and tell you that it will never work," said Chloe, "But Amber would like to thank you for your generosity."

"One last thing," I said, "I want to be in the room with him."

"Is this some kind of ploy to weasel a dance out of me after I already turned you down?"

"No, Chloe," I said, "This kid has a future. He's really good, he's going places. But if we can't figure out why he attacked Kyle, the Evans family could press charges and Chris will get expelled! He'd lose any shot of ever getting a football scholarship."

"This is a side of you that I've never seen before Oz, it's pretty hot." said Chloe.

"Thanks, babe," I said, "Now what do you say? Are you in?"

"Okay. Bring him in." said Chloe.

I winked at her and handed her the money. Chloe busied herself by counting the cash while I went back outside to go get Chris.

"Come on in." I said.

"So, um, do I get to pick the girl myself?" he asked as we walked past the bouncer. Chris showed his ID and we were both allowed in.

"Nope. Since I'm paying for it, I've already picked her out for you."

"Man, I'm probably gonna get stuck with one of those ugly trailer trash girls that only do this because they can't do anything else!" he whined.

"Hey watch your mouth!" I snapped, grabbing his ear, "I'll have you know that I lived in a trailer with my family until 2015!"

"I'm sorry, Coach. That was rude," he gasped, "I didn't know."

"Well, better you learn this lesson from me than someone less forgiving."

Chloe walked over. She pretended like she didn't even know me, which was perfect. She peered Chris up and down then felt his muscles playfully.

"Hey there cutie," she said, "Someone told me you wanted a dance."

"Um, yeah, that would be nice..." mumbled Chris.

"Remember, O'Neill!" I called to him, "Keep your hands to yourself!"

Chloe led him upstairs to the private booths. Halfway up the stairs she turned around and winked at me, then beckoned for me to follow.

Once we were inside the booth, Chloe pulled the curtains closed and I sat down on the couch behind her. Even though she'd be taking her clothes off, it's nothing I haven't seen before.

Chloe had stripped naked in my truck and gone down on me without me even wanting her to while she was under the influence of the Tattoo Virus.

But this wasn't even about the dance, it was about saving the world and helping Chris O'Neill before his potential career was ruined.

"Is he supposed to be here?" asked Chris as Chloe shoved him down onto the couch.

"Just pretend he's not even here," said Chloe, "It's just you and me, sweetie."

Chloe went all out. She was subtly interrogating him without actually making it sound like she was. She'd ask him things like "You're so stressed, is something bothering you?" or "Did you have a bad day?"

Chris was loving it. There were a couple of times where he instinctively wanted to grab at Chloe, but he stopped himself just in time. After twenty minutes of dancing, Chris suddenly screamed in fury!

He grabbed Chloe by the neck and squeezed while she coughed and struggled.

"O'Neill! Let her go!" I shouted.

I had no choice, if I didn't do something soon, he'd kill poor Chloe, who was only involved in this because she was doing me a favour.

"Yellow Ranger! CYBER POWER!" I shouted.

My yellow ranger suit materialized on my body and I elbowed Chris in the chest. He dropped Chloe and stumbled backwards out of the booth.

"Chloe!? Are you okay!?" I asked, kneeling down to check on her.

"Yeah, I think so," she coughed, "I'm gonna have a giant bruise on my neck now though."

"Something is definitely controlling him," I said, "But what could it be?"

"Right before he snapped, his eyes flashed red," wheezed Chloe, gathering up her clothes, "It seemed like until then, he was his usual self."

"I better go after him," I said, "Take it easy, Chloe."

I teleported back to Headquarters to see if Yuna had any light she could potentially shine on this situation.

"Power down." I said, after arriving.

I took a couple minutes to catch everybody up. I told them all about Chris and Kyle, I even told them about the incident at the Spearmint Hippo. I was relieved when nobody called me out on my idea.

"So the quarterback just hulked out and attacked the linebacker?" asked Riley.

"It was ugly, guys," I said, "Kyle is lucky to be alive."

"And you didn't see anything that might have triggered this?" asked Silver.

"No, I left them alone for five minutes tops to talk to Coach Wrigley," I said, thinking back to this afternoon, "When I came back I had to break them up."

"Are the two boys usually friends?" asked Yuna.

Chloe and Rachel took her shopping, so she had her own clothes now.

"Totally. Everyone on the team gets along great," I said, "That's why the Jets are doing so good lately."

Yuna touched her chin pensively and paced back and forth several times.

"It almost sounds like it could be one of the lieutenants." she said.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Oh right, sometimes I forget that I'm not in 2041 anymore," said Yuna, "The Sin Lieutenants are some of the most powerful soldiers in the Crusader army. There's seven of them, one for each of the deadly sins."

"So, if it is one of these lieutenants," I said, "Which one would it be?"

"Well, you said that normally everyone on the team gets along, right?"

I nodded.

"If Chris was maybe jealous of Kyle, then it would be Envy," said Yuna, "But since you say they're all good friends, it must be Wrath."

"So if we are dealing with Wrath," said Sawyer, "How do we find it?"

"Maybe it's possessing Chris' body and uses it to hurt people?" asked Rachel.

"The way Oz describes it," said Riley, "It doesn't sound quite like possession."

"I was with him for most of the day," I said, "He seemed perfectly fine until he snapped."

"Wrath has the ability to turn even the nicest people into homicidal maniacs," said Yuna, "But I don't know exactly how he does it."

"Well, until we can figure that out," said Riley, "Rachel, I want you to go the Spearmint Hippo and keep an eye on Chloe in case Chris decides to come back and finish the job."

Rachel nodded and teleported away.

"The rest of us are going to look around town for clues," continued Riley, "Remember, Oz needs to be back at the football field in three hours."

"I'm going to go talk to Kyle in the hospital and see if he can tell us anything that we don't already know." said Sawyer.

Sawyer teleported away.

"I'm going to the football field," said Riley, "Maybe Wrath is still hanging out around there?"

Riley teleported away.

"Yuna, why don't you come with me to Alexandra's?" I asked, "Coach Wrigley put me in charge for tonight so he could celebrate his 35th anniversary with his wife. I hate to bother them, but I can't think of anyone else that might know something."

"I'm not sure how Silver will feel about that." said Yuna.

"It's one thing for them to bring you along, but stealing my car and putting yourself in danger is where I draw the line," said Silver, "I trust Oz to keep you safe."

"Besides," I said, "I need you. You're only one that knows anything about Wrath."

"Alright." said Yuna.

She held her arm out and I took it so that I could bring her along with me as I teleported up through the ceiling of Headquarters.

We arrived outside the restaurant. In what may or may not be a coincidence, Coach Wrigley was getting out of his car as we touched down in the parking lot.

He turned and saw me, but he hadn't seen me as a streak of yellow light.

"Ostreicher?" he asked sounding frustrated, "What are you doing here?"

"Sorry sir," I said, "I hate to bother you but something weird is going on with O'Neill. He attacked Evans this afternoon and put him in the hospital."

"Yeah," said Wrigley, "I tend to have that effect on people."

He poked me hard in the chest and I felt an indescribable sensation flow through my body, emanating from where he touched me.

"Oz!" hollered Yuna, "That's not your coach, it's Wrath in disguise!"

I looked at her and a wave of pure, steaming hatred bubbled to the surface until it reached its boiling point.

I ran at Yuna. She tried to run, but there were cars all around, so she had nowhere to go. I caught her and slammed her down to the ground. I raised my fist, ready to smash her face in.

"Come on, Oz!" Yuna shrieked, "Fight it!"

"So angry!" I snarled.

"Anger is a beautiful thing. It overrides our thoughts and inhibitions, clouds our judgement and can even guide us on our path," said Wrath, tapping me on the shoulder, "Let it out, Oz. You can't keep things bottled up inside you like that."

"What did you to Coach Wrigley?" I grunted, straining against the unbridled rage.

I managed to stand up and turn away from Yuna. She crept forward while I was distracted and started pushing buttons on my Digitizer. I lost control momentarily and lashed out by slapping her across the face.

"He's at peace," said Wrath, "Death is a funny thing, isn't it? All living things fear it, but yet if they were to just embrace it, they'd never have to fear anything ever again."

"Coach Wrigley was a good man!" I growled.

"That's it, Oz," said Yuna, "Let him have it!"

"You humans don't deserve to live," spat Wrath, "Your species is a plague on the universe that must be wiped out so that His marvellous light can shine even brighter!"

"If anyone's a plague around here it's you!" I roared.

Wrath assumed its true form. It looked like some sort of gorilla creature. It had white fur and red skin. It had fearsomely sharp teeth and three horns on its head. It punched me hard and I went flying over all the cars and across the street.

From the ground I could see Yuna chase after me, followed closely by Wrath. Not a minute too soon, four streaks of coloured binary appeared and landed in front of me.

"Let's get you out of here, Yuna," said Sawyer, "It's not safe anymore."

Sawyer grabbed her arm and teleported her back to Headquarters. He reappeared seconds later and stood where he had been before teleporting Yuna away. The four of them were standing in such a way that they formed a sort of human shield between me and Wrath.

"Guys, stay back!" I roared, "Wrath touched me. I don't know how much longer I can hold back this rage!"

"You don't have to hold it back," said Wrath, "Just let it out and punish your friends. It'll make my job that much easier."

"SHUT UP!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, "Yellow Ranger! CYBER POWER!"

When I pushed the button on my Digitizer, I could see a swirling tornado of 0s and 1s come from out of my codec and encircle me.

It kept swirling faster and faster becoming more and more narrow as it did so until it collided with me in a small explosion. I had my yellow ranger suit on now. I leapt high into the air, rotating slightly as I rose.

By the time I reached the height of my jump, I had my helmet on too. During my descent, the strange dimension faded from around me until I landed back on the ground.

Morphing made me feel a bit more in control. I still felt the effects of Wrath's touch, but now I wasn't worried about accidentally hurting my friends again.

"Purple Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Sawyer.

"Blue Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Rachel.

"Red Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Riley.

"Orange Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Chloe.

"Download weapon!" I called, "Electricity."

I sprinted towards Wrath as fast as could, my shield was charged with electricity that I planned on unleashing on monkey boy.

I smashed into Wrath, but it held its hands out and caught my shield! I grunted and exerted as much power as I could muster. My codec sensed this and supercharged the electric charge on the shield.

Wrath let go of the shield and seemed to take a lot of damage from the electricity. While it was down on the ground I ran over to it and smashed its head with my shield over and over and over and over again.

I kept hitting until there was nothing left and just kept pounding away until finally, after what felt like hours, the anger completely drained away, leaving me panting on all fours.

"Power down." said the others in unison.

"Hey man, you gonna be okay?" asked Sawyer, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"I think so," I sighed, getting to my feet, "Power down."

Later on, back at Headquarters, I walked over to Yuna, who Jenna had given a bag of frozen peas to hold on her face where I hit her.

"I'm so sorry, Yuna." I sighed.

"It wasn't your fault, Oz," she said, "You know that and I know that."

"It's lucky she was smart enough to fiddle with your Digitizer when she did," said Silver, "The others might not have gotten to you in time otherwise."

"Wrath killed Coach Wrigley and his wife just because they don't believe in this Psion guy," I said, clenching my fists in anger, "I never knew that evil came in so many shapes and sizes."

"Trojan wanted to rule the world," said Silver, "But the Crusaders want to destroy it."

"Well, on the bright side," said Yuna, "Wrath is gone and isn't coming back."

"One down and six to go," said Riley, "And that's just for the Sin Lieutenants."

When it came time for the big game, I went on to coach the Jets to a stunning victory against the Cougars. We beat them 49-3, it was a glorious moment! I just wish Coach Wrigley could've seen it, or poor Evans, who was still in the hospital.

Luckily, I hear he's expected to make a full recovery. After winning the game, the Principal offered me the job of head coach, which I turned down. I still want to be head coach someday, but I don't want to earn the position like this.

Besides, I don't have time to be a full time coach. The Crusaders needed to be stopped at all costs, before more innocent people get hurt or die...


	5. Heroine

Headquarters, Sector 0  
Metro City, Canada  
July 15th, 2018  
12:49 PM

 **"Yuna Murphy"**

I was staring into a magical box that showed lots of pictures. Riley told me it was called a television. By the time I was old enough to have memories, the world was in such rough shape that I never really watched TV.

Right now it was showing a bunch of strange looking cars that could accelerate very quickly. They kept driving around and around on an ellipse shaped track. People that I couldn't see seemed to be sharing their opinions on the action with us.

"Did either of you two see that Yuna is watching NASCAR?" asked Sawyer.

"I've never seen someone so fascinated by something so boring." said Jenna.

"My folks loved NASCAR and tried to turn me on to it," said Sawyer, "But I just couldn't get past the fact that all they ever do is make left turns over and over and over and over again."

I peeled myself away from the television to look at them.

"I never really watched TV before." I said.

"Well, if you had parents, they probably would've told you that it rots your brain." said Silver.

"Yuna, I've been meaning to ask you," said Jenna, "If you don't have parents, then how do you have a last name?"

"I don't remember who my real parents are," I said, "But I was adopted by a family shortly after the Crusaders destroyed the Power Rangers. They raised me for a couple of years until they were killed by the Crusaders too. Along with nearly every single other person on Earth."

"That certainly explains your motivations for trying to rewrite history." said Jenna.

"I'll never forgive the Crusaders..." I muttered, wiping my eyes as tears started to form.

"Yuna, I find your story inspiring," said Sawyer, "With your permission and help, I'd love to write a book based on your story."

"What's the point?" I asked, "Once we defeat the Crusaders, history will be rewritten, so the story will become obsolete."

"It's not going to be a biography," said Sawyer, "It's going to be a science fiction story."

"So you'll just be basing it on me?" I asked.

"Yes," said Sawyer, "I did the same thing with our previous adventures as Power Rangers three years ago and the book became a bestseller almost overnight."

"You're an author?" I asked.

"Technically, yes," said Sawyer, "But I've only published one book so far."

I looked over to the lounge area of Headquarters. Rachel and Chloe were sitting across the table from each other and were playing what seemed to be a game of some sort.

"What are they playing?" I asked.

"You've never seen chess?" asked Jenna.

"You'll come to learn that I haven't seen much of anything," I said, "Except of course the desolate wastelands that I had to survive."

"It's one of the oldest games in world," said Silver, "It's a very strategic game. The Green Ranger, Marcus was a bonafide master and taught them all how to play before he died."

"His position has yet to be filled," said Jenna, "Who was the Green Ranger when the Crusaders defeated the Power Rangers?"

"There was no Green Ranger," I said, "I always thought it was weird that there was a colour missing."

"Yes, Marcus was murdered by our first adversary, Aaron "Trojan" Kingsley," said Silver, "Trojan was a serial killer who was banished to the alternate dimension of Cyberspace to serve a life sentence."

"It's a long story," said Sawyer, "I wasn't there for most of it, but Silver, Jenna and the other rangers helped me fill in the blanks in my story that I based on it."

I went over to the lounge area and sat down on Rachel's right side. Oz was sitting next to Chloe, and Riley was sitting on Rachel's left side.

"How do you play?" I asked.

"You have to position your pieces in such a way that the other person's king piece can't move," said Riley, "Each piece has a specific rule about how it moves."

"Could you teach me some time?" I asked.

"Maybe," said Oz, "But we're still rookies ourselves. Marcus never got a chance to teach us the finer details before he... Well, you know."

The sirens started blaring, so they dropped what they were doing and gathered around near the Mainframe (I think that's what it's called. I hear them use that word quite often) to consult with Silver.

"Never a dull moment." said Sawyer.

"The signal seems to be emanating from Sector 9, the business district." said Jenna.

"At this time of day, there will be people everywhere," said Silver, "Rangers, don't morph unless you absolutely have to. The governments have decided to keep the Crusaders' attack quiet, so if they see you morphing, it'll only cause panic."

"Let's get down there." said Riley.

They gathered together into the shape of the letter 'V' and then pressed and held two buttons on their Digitizers. Seconds later, they transformed into five beams of different coloured light that flew up through the ceiling.

After they left, I looked at the monitors curiously and saw that the creature was wreaking havoc in the city. It looked slightly more human compared to some of the other agents I've seen before.

"Yuna, do you recognize that one?" asked Jenna.

"No," I said, "But that doesn't mean anything. The dimension that the Crusaders come from has thousands upon thousands of different species and their army is comprised of all sorts of different demons."

"People of Earth!" bellowed the creature, "Bring me Yuna Murphy and I shall spare your lives, keep her from me, and you shall feel my wrath!"

I could hear what it was saying on the monitors. It was just like watching television.

"I don't think that's an agent," I said, "I think it's a Time Lord."

"You mean like Doctor Who?" asked Silver.

"If you're referencing a TV show, I don't get it." I said.

"Right, sorry," said Silver, "It's a BBC program that's been on the air longer than I've been alive. It's about a Time Lord that travels through time in a machine that looks like an old phone booth."

"I still think that David Tennant was the best Doctor." said Jenna offhandedly.

"Two words for you, Tom Baker," said Silver, "But, if it is a Time Lord, then what does it want?"

"My being here is unavoidably having an effect on the flow of time," I said, "Normally, people don't linger in the time they travel back to. They take a vacation and then come back."

"But because you're trapped here, and can't go back, it's throwing things out of whack?" asked Jenna.

"Like I said, it's unavoidable," I said, "But when an anomaly is identified, it sends ripples outwards. Even though my being here isn't affecting this timeline, it's causing problems in other places in the flow."

"And when that happens, they dispatch a Time Lord to remedy it?" asked Silver.

"Yes," I said, "Although from what I've heard, Time Lords are not normally violent. They typically track down their target and return it to it's rightful time as peacefully and civilly as possible."

I gasped and covered my mouth with my hand. I could see that the Time Lord was now using some sort of magic to kill people.

He would point at someone with all five of his fingers, and then rotate it's hand clockwise at the wrist. Then the person he pointed at would clutch at their chest and collapse to the floor in agony.

"I've got to go turn myself in." I said.

"That's exactly what he wants you to do," said Silver, "But you're an incredibly valuable source of information to us, if you go back to 2041, we'll be fighting blind."

"But he's hurting innocent people!" I moaned.

"Well, maybe you could try reasoning with him?" asked Jenna, "If you tell him that you're here for a good reason, maybe he'll let you stay?"

"I guess it's worth a try," I said, "But how would I get there?"

"I'll use the silver codec to teleport you there." said Silver.

 **"Riley Bishop"**

We found the creature in the middle of Sector 9. It seemed to be using some kind of magic to kill people. I could hear a faint sound that was similar to a ticking clock.

"Stop!" I shouted.

"Why should I?" he jeered.

"Those are innocent people," said Rachel, "If you want to kill people, then kill us."

"I'll get to you eventually," he said, "All in good time."

"What exactly were you doing to those people?" asked Oz.

"It's my special ability," said the creature, "I can manipulate the speed at which living beings age. Plants, demons, cats, humans; it works on anything."

"There's nothing special about that," said Oz, "That's just cruel."

The creature pointed at Oz with five fingers and rotated his hand counter clockwise. Oz clutched at his chest and then seconds later, he reverted back into an infant.

Rachel ran forward and caught baby Oz before he could hit the ground. He started crying, so Rachel instinctively starting rocking him.

"Change him back!" she roared.

"Say pretty please." jeered the creature again.

He pointed at Sawyer this time and turned his hand clockwise. He went through the same process as Oz, but he was getting older, not younger.

Chloe ran forward and kicked the creature in the chest as hard as she could. He stumbled backwards and his arm lowered.

It was enough to distract him and allow Sawyer to get to his feet. He was having a hard time standing up, because he now resembled a 50 year old man.

"That felt weird." he sputtered.

After regaining himself, the creature got back to his feet and pointed at Chloe. He turned his hand counter clockwise again and she also reverted into baby. No one was there to catch her though.

"Change them all back!" snarled Rachel, "You've made your point!"

The creature looked at her curiously and then raised his hand again. He rotated his hand clockwise again, but I dove in front of Rachel.

"Don't even think about it!" I hollered.

And then there was pain. It started gradually, but eventually it got worse. The pain was followed by a strange draining sensation that took all of my energy.

I heard a loud clang sound just before I hit the ground. When I landed, I felt run down and exhausted, as if I had just run hundreds of consecutive marathons. Something must have interrupted the creature, because I should have died.

I looked up and saw Yuna standing behind the creature. She was holding another stop sign and glaring at the creature.

"Where do you keep finding those stop signs?" I wheezed, trying to lighten the mood.

Chloe had interrupted the creature sooner than Yuna had, so while Sawyer had only aged about 25 years, I seemed to have aged close to 100 years.

"Rachel, take the others and get out of here." said Yuna.

"You're no match for him." she said.

"That doesn't matter," said Yuna, "I know what he wants."

"You do?" asked Rachel, confused.

"Yeah, me." said Yuna.

Rachel nodded to show she understood, and then with Sawyer's help, grabbed me, baby Oz and baby Chloe and ran away from the action.

 **"Yuna Murphy"**

When the Time Lord figured out that I was the one that had hit him, he whipped around and hit me hard. I fell to the ground.

After Silver had teleported me to Sector 9, he teleported himself away, most likely back to Headquarters.

"Please..." I pleaded, getting back to my feet.

"Please what?" cackled the Time Lord.

"Please stop this." I pleaded again.

"Your very existence here has thrown the flow out of whack," said the Time Lord, "Time anomalies are becoming more and more frequent."

"Is there some way we could compromise?" I asked.

I hadn't told anyone about them yet, but I had other reasons as to why I didn't want to go back to 2041. Even before I used the medallion, I knew that I wouldn't be able to go back and I couldn't care less.

"I wish there was," he said, "But only one thing can restore order to the flow, and you and I both know what that is."

"If you only came here for me, then why did you hurt innocent people?" I asked.

"My methods are a bit more direct and cruel than those of the other Lords," he said, "But there's no denying that I still get results. Rather than waste time searching for you, I stirred up some trouble in the hopes that you'd come to me."

"The only reason I came here was to help the Power Ranger defeat the Crusaders. As much as I'd love to stay and help them, I can't stand to see innocent people get hurt." I said.

"So you'll let me send you back?" asked the Time Lord.

"I will," I said, "As long as you promise not to hurt anyone else and undo what you did to my friends."

"Very well." he said.

I watched as the Time Lord held up his hands and wave them around. Suddenly he fired a massive beam of energy right at me! He tricked me! That thing probably wasn't even a Time Lord at all, he was probably just another agent.

I tried to jump out of the way, but for some reason, I was moving too slowly. He must have used more of his magic on me to stop me from avoiding his attack. So this is it then, this is how I die.

I came here to help the Power Rangers, and maybe I did. Maybe just by pointing them in the right direction, they'll be able to defeat the Crusaders this time. I had no interest in watching my own death, so I shut my eyes tightly.

I waited and waited, but the laser beam didn't hit me. I opened my eyes curiously and saw that a weird green gem was floating in front of me. I looked around and saw that something had created a shield around me that had protected me from the attack.

The gem was glowing brightly and it almost seemed like it was trying to tell me something. I reached for it and grasped it tightly in my hand. The gem exploded with green light, and then seemed to generate a soothing aura that made me feel safe and warm.

To the left of me, I saw the same silver streak of light that Silver and I had transformed into when he teleported me here.

The silver light flew down from somewhere and landed on the street. Silver emerged from it, he was grinning from ear to ear when he looked at me.

"Yuna, catch!" he hollered.

He threw something at me and I held up my other hand to catch it. I could see what it was. It was a Digitizer!

Instinctively, I took the green gem and inserted it into the plastic case on the Digitizer. Once I inserted it, the gem exploded with green light again.

The force of the explosion shattered the protective barrier. I glared at the agent with a look of determination on my face.

"Green Ranger! CYBER POWER!" I shouted, copying the same action that I'd seen the others do.

When I pushed the button on my Digitizer, I could see a swirling tornado of 0s and 1s come from out of the gem and encircle me.

It kept swirling faster and faster becoming more and more narrow as it did so until it collided with me in a small explosion. I had a green ranger suit on now. I leapt high into the air, rotating slightly as I rose.

By the time I reached the height of my jump, I had my helmet on too. During my descent, the strange dimension faded from around me until I landed back on the street.

"Welcome to the team, Yuna," came Jenna's voice, "Summon your weapon by flicking the switch on your Digitizer to choose which one you want to summon."

I flicked the switch back and forth to get a feel for it. On the visor of my helmet, an image of a spear appeared when I had the switch in one position, then when I pushed it to the other position, I saw the image of gun.

"That'll do nicely," I said, "Download weapon!"

"The green codec allows it's user to channel the power of wind," said Silver, "To start channeling, just say the name of your element."

"Commander, my plan backfired!" called the agent, "I need reinforcements!"

"I had a feeling that you weren't a Time Lord." I snapped.

"I'll have you know that a long time ago, I was," said the agent, "Some of the others see our blessing of immortality as a curse, but I see it as a gift. It just means that I can bathe in His magnificent light forever!"

"You're going to reverse whatever you did to my friends," I said, "You're immortal, but you're not invincible."

"Clever girl," said the agent, "Yes, I will never die of old age, but I can still die."

"I'll bet you that this shotgun can kill you." I said.

Ten strange creatures fell from the sky and landed in front of the agent. They had powdery pale blue skin and were wearing silver and black jumpsuits. On their faces they had four red eyes that seemed to glow menacingly.

Their eyes lacked pupils or irises, so they were just pure red and beady. Instead of noses, they had two snake like slits. Below the slits were four strange tentacles that grew down and covered their mouths.

"Yuna, be careful of the Creepers!" shouted Rachel, "Don't let them surround you!"

Another silver streak of light came down from behind me. Silver stepped out of it and tapped me on the shoulder.

"Stall them," he whispered, "Rachel and I will get the others out of here and then come back to help you."

"No problem," I said, "It'll give me a chance to try out my new powers."

The group of Creepers charged towards me. I felt that I was able to instinctively dodge and evade their attacks with ease.

"This feels amazing!" I gasped, "I'm surging with power!"

I aimed my shotgun at the last Creeper that ran at me a pulled the trigger. The pellets perforated through it and it melted into a pile of pale blue goop. It was quite disgusting to watch.

I could see out of the corner of my eye that Silver and Rachel were teleporting in and out of Sector 9. Each time, they would take one of the age altered other rangers with them to get them to safety.

"Wind." I said.

A small orb of wind formed at the tip of my shotgun. I pumped it to ready the next shot as three more Creepers surrounded me. I fired and the pellets moved through the air like a snake. Three more piles of blue goop.

I readied another shot and pulled the trigger. A huge wave of wind blasted forward and knocked the rest of the Creepers down to the ground.

A streak of silver light appear to my right and a streak of blue appeared to my left.

"How you holding up?" asked Rachel.

"Fantastic." I said.

"Mind if we lend a hand?" asked Silver.

"Not at all."

"Blue Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Rachel.

"SILVER POWER, ACTIVATE!" shouted Silver.

The three of us gathered together and stood our ground as the remaining Creepers rushed us.

Blue used her ring blade to attack the two that were closest to her. Silver used his weird four bladed sword thing to attack the two Creepers that were close to him. That left me to deal with the last two.

I flicked the switch on my Digitizer and changed to my other weapon. It was a spear.

"Wind." I said again.

I twirled the spear around and streaks of wind followed the motion. I threw the spear high into the air and it started snaking around just like the pellets. It impaled the first Creeper and then zipped around to get the other one.

The others had all finished with their Creepers too. We regrouped to face the phony Time Lord, and I chuckled as I saw that Blue and Silver were being careful as they stepped so they wouldn't get blue goop on their shoes.

"Perhaps I underestimated you." said the agent.

"Feel like fixing my friends yet?" I asked, pointing my spear at him.

"Never!" snapped the agent, "I haven't lost yet, this is just a minor setback!"

A streak of red light and a streak of purple light flew down and landed in front of us.

The purple light materialized into Sawyer. He was still under the effects of the agent's spell though.

"I think I can still help out." he said.

The red streak materialized into Riley, who looked like his usual self.

"The spell just suddenly wore off." he said.

It seems like the agent was losing his concentration. Riley was the last one to get hit by the age altering magic, so he was the first one to return to normal.

"NO!" roared the agent, "This can't be happening!"

"But it is." I said.

Sawyer and Riley came to stand with us.

"Purple Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Sawyer.

"Red Ranger! CYBER POWER" shouted Riley.

Now there was five of us. The agent knew he was screwed.

"Green," said Red, "Why don't you do the honours and summon the VR?"

We all held up our weapons and they disintegrated into a flurry of binary. Then the flurry of binary of reconfigured itself into our ultimate weapon, the Virus Reaper.

"Virus Reaper online!" I announced.

Each of us grabbed one of the handles and took aim at the agent. The VR has a laser sight that we can use to help us line up the perfect shot.

"Five..." said Red.

"Four..." said Blue.

"Three..." said Silver.

"Two..." said Purple.

"FIRE!"I shouted.

With an electronic twanging sound, the VR shot the bolt. There was a loud boom as the bolt broke the sound barrier.

The bolt shot right through the agent's chest and then returned to us like a boomerang.

The agent fell over backwards as we struck a pose. The VR disintegrated away and several large beams of light flew from the agent's body and soared up into the sky. One of them hit Purple and he gasped.

"I think that means we broke the spell." he said.

"Hopefully all the others that died will come back too." I said.

"Red and I can go check on them," said Blue, "You guys go back to Headquarters and see how Oz and Chloe are doing."

I nodded and then gathered together with Purple and Silver to teleport.

"Power down." I said when we got back.

"You were awesome, Yuna." said Oz and Chloe.

"Thanks." I said, blushing.

Rachel and Riley teleported back into Headquarters.

"Good news," said Rachel, "No one actually died."

"That's good,"I said, "I don't know what I would've done if anyone was killed because of me."

"This definitely explains why there was no Green Ranger in the future you came from Yuna," said Jenna, "Because the Crusaders had to defeat the Power Rangers in order to motivate you to travel back in time and become the Green Ranger."

"I guess," I said, "We're in an alternate timeline now."

"Now we just have to defeat the Crusaders and this new timeline will overwrite the old one." said Silver.

"You make it sound so easy," I said, "We'll never defeat them by just wiping out all their agents. They'll get replaced within seconds."

"So then how do you we defeat them?" asked Riley.

"Based on everything I've seen and experienced," I said, "The Crusaders are a religious army. And their leader, Astrid is the most devout of them all. But if we could somehow crush her spirit..."

"But if she's as devout as you say, is there even anything that could do that?" asked Oz.

"I don't know," I said, "But I do know that we won't win just by defeating all the agents."


	6. Signature

Millennium Books, Sector 21  
Metro City, Canada  
July 26th, 2018  
1:12 PM

 **"David Sawyer"**

I was doing a book signing in the shop in Sector 21. I haven't really gotten a chance to explore the new sector since they finished building it. There's not much there that would really interest me, mind you.

Oz came with me to work security. Not that I really needed his help, but more because I wanted people to think that I needed his help. Science fiction authors shouldn't be able to fight like I can, you see.

"I love your book." said one fan.

"Glad to hear it," I said, "Who am I making it out to?"

"Oh, it's Jerry," he said, "Jerry Freeman."

I handed him the signed book and Jerry's hand trembled as he took it from me.

"Thank you so much!" he gasped.

"No problem." I said.

Jerry was the last person in line. More people would come back. The signing was still going on for a couple of hours yet.

"If I had known how many people would show up, I would've said I wasn't interested," I sighed, "That or design a stamp with my signature on it to save time."

A cute girl walked in to the store and slowly approached the table. She had brown hair tied in a ponytail and big green eyes.

"Hi?" she asked meekly, "Am I in the right place to get my book signed?"

"You are." I said.

"Dude, maybe I should write a book. I want one of those." Oz whispered, pointing at the girl.

"You can have her," I said, "I'm spoken for, remember?"

"So you say," said Oz, "But I have yet to meet this so called girlfriend of yours."

"Michelle works ridiculous hours at the hospital," I said, "We barely have enough time to see each other, let alone other people. That's very common for doctors, especially for ER doctors."

The cute brunette approached the table cautiously. It was like we were hunters, camouflaged in the trees with appropriate clothing and she was a skittish doe. Although I'm pretty sure you shoot the bucks, not the does, the metaphor still works. She handed me her copy of my book. Hers was the first hardcover copy I'd seen today.

"Who do I make it out to?" I asked, lowering my pen.

"No, wait!" she squeaked, "Don't use that pen, please use my pen."

"I'm not really sure it'll make much of a difference." I said.

"To me it will," said the girl, "This pen has sentimental value to me. It was my grandfather's. If you sign my book with it, it'll mean a lot more to me."

"Alright," I said, taking her pen, "Do you just want my signature?"

"How about you have it say 'Angie, may all your wishes come true, love from David' or something like that?" she asked.

"You've got it." I said.

I quickly scrawled the message into the inside front cover of the book. The ink that pen left behind seemed to be extra shiny, but maybe it was just a trick of the light?

"Thank you so much, David!" she gasped, "I'll treasure this for the rest of my life."

"Lady, it's a signature, not a puppy," said Oz, "You're creeping him out."

"Sorry, I'm just excited."

"I understand," I said, "Nice meeting you, Angie."

"You too." she said.

She turned and left.

"I like that skirt she was wearing, she's got great legs," said Oz, "Man you should have asked for her phone number!"

"Why?" I scoffed, "I have a girlfriend!"

"I know," said Oz, "But I don't and she's hot."

"You're drooling!" I snapped, bopping him on the head lightly, "What are you, a dog?"

As I spoke the words, I could hear my voice echo loudly. It almost felt like I had shot the words out of my mouth rather than simply speaking them.

Oz's eyes grew wide and he looked at me momentarily before he got down on all fours and sat there like a dog.

"Very funny, Oz." I said.

"WOOF!" barked Oz.

His mouth was open and his tongue was lolling like an actual dog.

"Okay, Oz, jokes over," I said, "You can stand up now."

"WOOF!" barked Oz again.

He hopped up onto the table and started licking my cheek enthusiastically.

"YUCK!" I groaned, wiping slobber from my face, "Bad Oz! Get down!"

Oz whined in disappointment, and then hopped down off the table. He laid down on the floor and curled up into a ball.

"Oz?" I asked.

No response.

"Um, sit up?" I asked.

Oz perked up into an upright position.

"Shake a paw?" I asked.

Oz held out his hand obediently. I took it and shook his "paw" enthusiastically.

"Good boy!" I said, patting him on the head, "Wait a minute, what the hell am I doing!?"

I had Oz go lay down behind the table until I finished doing the rest of the book signing. At 3:00PM, after the last fan got his book signed, I gently poked Oz to wake him up.

"C'mon boy," I said, "Let's to Headquarters. Maybe Silver or Yuna will know what's gotten into you. You know, besides fleas."

"WOOF!" barked Oz.

We left the bookstore and stood outside on the street. Nobody was around, so I crouched down so I was the same height as Oz and then grabbed his arm to teleport him along with me.

When we arrived in Headquarters, Oz bounded off happily and started sniffing around.

"Hey guys, look what followed me home." I said sarcastically.

"Why is Oz acting like a dog?" asked Riley, moving away when Oz tried to smell his butt.

"I have no idea," I said, "We were talking about a girl who came to the book signing and then the next thing I knew, he got down on all fours and started acting like Rover."

"Oz?" asked Rachel, walking up to him, "Why are you acting like a dog?"

"WOOF!" barked Oz.

"He's not acting like a dog, he IS a dog. Or at least he thinks he is." I said.

"That would certainly explain why he keeps sniffing us," said Riley, "I wonder if his sense of smell is as strong as dog's now?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"Does he do any tricks?" asked Rachel.

"Is that really relevant?" I asked.

"Well, no," said Rachel, "But Oz thinks he's a dog, so we might as well have a little fun."

"I honestly didn't try."

"Hey Oz," said Rachel, "Play dead."

Oz looked curiously at her for a minute, and then let himself fall backwards. He laid there, sprawled on the floor completely motionless.

"Good boy!" cheered Rachel.

"Let's see if he can fetch," said Riley, taking off one of his shoes, "Do you want this Oz? You want my shoe don't you? Well then GO GET IT!"

Oz bolted up and took off after Riley's thrown shoe. He caught it in his mouth before it ever touched the floor.

"Oh no," said Riley, "I didn't think that through very well. Now he's chewing on it."

"That's not all he doing," I said, "Can't you see he's slobbering on it too?"

As I spoke the words, I could hear my voice echo loudly. It almost felt like I had shot the words out of my mouth rather than simply speaking them.

Riley's eyes grew wide and he looked at me momentarily and then he started squinting at me. He took off his glasses and looked at them curiously.

"Guys… I can't see," he said, "Everything just went dark. I think I've gone blind!"

"Sawyer, didn't you JUST ask him if he couldn't see?" asked Rachel.

"Yeah, I did, but what are you implying? You think I did this?" I asked defensively.

"Well, obviously not on purpose," said Rachel, "But you have to admit, Riley turning blind seconds after you saying it can't just be a coincidence."

"Rachel?" said Riley, "Where are you honey? I can hear, you but I can't see you."

He started walking very cautiously with his arms held out in front of him. He kept waving them around at absolutely nothing to check if there was anything in front of him.

"I'm right here, babe," she said, "I'm holding out my hand, just feel around for it."

Riley moved closer to her by following her voice and reached for Rachel's outstretched hand, but he accidentally ended up grabbing something else.

"That's not my arm, Riley." said Rachel.

"Yeah, I kind of figured, it doesn't feel like an arm." he said, squeezing her left breast curiously.

"Stop squeezing it, there's people watching!" moaned Rachel in frustration.

"Please don't stop on our account." said Chloe.

She and Yuna were walking down the stairs of Headquarters, which means they were already here. If they had come from somewhere else, they would've teleported to get inside.

"Chloe was giving me tips on how to use makeup."

"It's a good thing Chloe was helping you and not "Amber"," I said, "If "Amber" had helped you, then you'd look like a slut. But, since Chloe helped you, now you look like a princess."

For the third time, as I spoke the words, I could hear my voice echo loudly. It almost felt like I had shot the words out of my mouth rather than simply speaking them.

Yuna's eyes grew wide and she looked at me momentarily. Then her whole demeanour changed and she glared at me furiously.

"How dare you address me like that, you knave!?" she snarled, "I am your princess and you shall show me more respect!"

Yuna turned around on her heels and stormed away with her nose pointed upwards in the most snobby way you could imagine.

"What's her problem?" asked Chloe.

Oz was slowly walking back over to me, with Riley's shoe in his mouth. He dropped it at my feet and then looked at me expectantly.

"Did Oz just drop a shoe at your feet?" asked Chloe, "What the hell is going on here?"

"Oz thinks he's a dog, Riley is blind and… Yuna thinks she's a princess."

Rachel turned to look at me and pointed a finger at me.

"Sawyer," she said, "You're doing this! It has to be you!"

"Now you sound paranoid, Rachel." I said.

It happened again. When I spoke the words, I could hear my voice echo loudly. It almost felt like I had shot the words out of my mouth rather than simply speaking them.

Rachel's eyes grew wide and she looked at me momentarily. Her eyes grew even wider and she started trembling.

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!?" she wailed.

She sounded horrified. She started biting her nails and checking over her shoulder every couple of seconds.

"My god she was right…" I muttered, "I AM doing this. But why am I doing this? Maybe more importantly, HOW am I doing this?"

"I'd love to stay and help you figure it out, but I have to get to work." said Chloe.

She left, leaving me to deal with the 'Oz the Dog', 'Riley the Blind' and 'Rachel the Paranoid'. They all sound like titles from a medieval themed video game.

Silver walked down the stairs now too.

"Where were you?" I asked.

"In the kitchen," he said, "I had a craving for tacos. There's probably a few more on the counter if you want one."

"Actually that sounds really good. I might go get one later," I said, "I meant that something weird is going on, and usually you're already down here when he come to Headquarters."

"Weird how?" asked Silver, taking a big bite of his taco.

"It's almost like whatever I say is coming true," I said, "But I have to say it in a very specific way."

"What do you mean?" asked Silver.

"Allow me to demonstrate," I said, picking up the very slimy shoe that Oz had dropped at my feet earlier, "Oz! Fetch!"

I threw it across the room and stifled a laugh as Oz bounded after the shoe excitedly. He was moving like a real dog, so it was pretty funny to watch.

"Oz thinks he's a dog." I said.

"Yeah and I can't see!" wailed Riley.

Silver walked up to Riley and waved his fingers in front of his eyes.

"Do you mean to say that you're blind?" asked Silver.

"Stop whatever you're doing. You smell like Mexican food." said Riley.

"Oh my god, Riley don't let him touch you!" Rachel shrieked, "He's probably an alien that wants to harvest your brain!"

"What's wrong with her?" asked Silver.

"She's extremely paranoid." I sighed.

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!?" wailed Rachel, "I'm not extremely paranoid. I've been called a lot of things in my life, but paranoid is certainly not one of them. Riley, you don't think I'm extremely paranoid do you!?"

"I didn't until you just asked me if I think you're paranoid," said Riley, "But don't worry, this isn't you. Just like Oz isn't a dog… Most days and I'm not normally blind."

"Are you completely blind or just partially blind?" asked Silver.

"Why does that matter, Silver?" asked Riley, "The bottom line is that I can't see."

"Don't trust a word Silver says babe," said Rachel, "He's just waiting for his ideal opportunity to strike!"

"WOOF!" barked Oz.

I hadn't even noticed that he had brought the shoe back.

"Again? Really?" I sighed.

Without even looking, I threw the shoe far away and Oz took off after it again.

"Silver, I need to go clear my head and think about this. If I really am the one doing this, I need to figure out how to reverse it," I said, "Can you and Jenna watch the others for me?"

"You're going to the strip club aren't you!?" asked Silver, angrily, "I hardly consider watching scantily clad women dance on a pole clearing your head!"

"You know what, Silver?" I snapped, "You need to get laid! You're so caught up in your head that sometimes you lash out at other people for no reason."

For the fifth time, as I spoke the words, I could hear my voice echo loudly. It almost felt like I had shot the words out of my mouth rather than simply speaking them.

Silver's eyes grew wide and he looked at me momentarily. A sly smile crept onto his face and he walked confidently up the stairs.

"Oh Jenna, where are you?" he said in an eerily seductive voice.

"Oops…" I muttered, "Riley, Rachel keep your eye-um, I mean don't let Oz get into too much trouble while I'm gone."

"AAAHHH!" shrieked Rachel, "That is WAY too much pressure to put on us, Sawyer!"

I stopped by my room to grab something that would hide my face. Obviously I knew about Chloe's job at the Spearmint Hippo, but I had never gone there to see her before because I never felt like I had a reason.

It wasn't until I started seeing Chloe more often that I started to question whether I should have fought harder to keep her. She was the one that broke up with me, but I thought I had been happy with Michelle, and I suppose I am, but now I'm starting to wonder if I might have been happier with Chloe.

I wanted to go somewhere to think about why everything I said was coming true. I already tried saying that I was a millionaire. It seems to only work on other people and only when I say something about that person.

So I figure that if I go to the Spearmint Hippo, I could think about my confusing feelings for Chloe and think about what's happening to me at the same time. But I didn't want Chloe to know that I there, hence the disguise.

As I closed the door to my room, I saw that there was a sock hanging from the doorknob of Silver's room. I could also hear faint moaning sounds. Silver and Jenna obviously had a thing for each other, it was so obvious, but yet neither one of them had ever acted on it. Maybe this unintentional push was just what they needed?

From the hallway, I pressed and held the two buttons on my Digitizer and teleported into the parking lot of the Spearmint Hippo. I made my way to the door and the bouncer let me in after scanning my ID.

I sat down at a small table that was secluded in a corner of the bar. A waitress came over to me to take my order. Then I saw her face. It was Angie, the girl from the book signing earlier today!

"Hi David," she said, "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Well so much for my disguise," I said, taking off my hat and sunglasses, "What are you doing here?"

"I work here silly." she said.

"Sawyer!?" snapped Chloe from the stage.

"Oh boy…" I sighed, "Angie, fetch me something strong."

"Will do." she said.

Chloe power walked over to me and put her hands on her hips disapprovingly.

"Why are you here, David?" she asked quietly.

She knows that I prefer Sawyer. She only uses my first name when she means business.

"I don't know how you found out that I work here," she whispered, "There's a very good reason why I didn't tell you."

"I heard through the grape vine," I said, "You know me. I'm not the kind of person that would go behind your back."

"If you want to watch me dance with the rest of these guys while I'm working, I can't stop you," said Chloe, "But what would Michelle think if she knew you were here?"

"She trusts me, so she wouldn't ask." I said.

"Just because you know she isn't going to ask, it doesn't make not telling her any less dishonest," said Chloe, "Now tell me what you're doing here."

"I just needed to go somewhere to clear my head," I said, "If what Rachel said is true and I'm somehow causing all this weird stuff to happen, then I need to figure out how to stop it."

"So why would you come here?"

"Because it's the last place anyone would think to look for me," I said, "Nobody else knows that I know about you working here."

"There has to be more to it than that." she said.

"You want the truth? Alright fine!" I sighed, "Since we returned to active duty, we've been seeing each other more often and it's got me thinking that although I'm really happy with Michelle and love her very much, I also still miss you and I also think that I still love you."

"Well I don't love you!" sobbed Chloe, "That's why I broke up with you. I couldn't keep stringing you along anymore. So when I realized that your feelings for me were much stronger than mine for you, I ended it because you deserve better than me."

"You should have just told me that," I said, "I thought it was something that I did."

"No," sniffled Chloe, "You'll make a wonderful husband someday. Just not to me."

"Here's your drink, David." said Angie, handing me a bottle.

Angie winked at me, and then turned to go back behind the bar, but Chloe stopped her by grabbing her earring. She gasped in pain.

"I'm on a first name basis with all the bartenders and servers here, and I don't recognize you at all," said Chloe, "You don't really work here, do you?"

A sinister grin spread across Angie's face. She slapped Chloe's hand away and snickered quietly to herself.

"No." she said.

"Wait a minute, I get it now!" I snapped, "You had me sign your book with that special pen!"

"Very good," said Angie, "That's my power. I can make people do all kinds of incredible things, all they have to do is sign their names. I've destroyed countless worlds for Psion without ever resorting to violence. I just let the inhabitants do it for me."

"Well this time you failed," I said, "All you've done is make me cast weird spells on my friends."

"Wait," said Chloe, "If it was your words that cast the spell, then maybe your words can also undo it?"

I nodded at her.

"Riley, you're not blind. You can see again!" I said.

"Oz, you're not a dog, you're a human being!" I said.

"Yuna, you're not literally a princess!" I said.

"Rachel, you're not paranoid and you don't worry too much!" I said.

I thought momentarily, trying to remember what else I had accidentally done.

"Silver you can-" I began, "Nah, never mind. Keep going, you stud."

"That won't work," cackled Angie, "I only gave you the power to cast spells, not undo them. If you want to help your friends, you'll have to get my pen and destroy it."

"Then let's take this outside." I said.

"If you insist." sneered Angie.

I would imagine that probably isn't even her name. She might not even be female. Maybe she's just assuming that form to blend in.

Angie took her pen and drew a picture of an arrow in the air. The ink stayed suspended in the air and started glowing. Angie snapped her fingers and the arrow launched itself towards me. I caught it before it could hit me, but the arrow kept going with me still holding it.

I hung on for as long as I could before letting go. Now I was outside. The arrow smashed through the wall near the door and deposited me in the parking lot.

"Now I'm cranky," I said, "Purple Ranger! CYBER POWER!"

Angie had followed me outside. She was looking at me much like how a lioness might look at a helpless, injured gazelle.

"Oh my god!" shrieked Angie, mockingly, "You're the Purple Ranger! Could I have your autograph!?"

"Screw you!" I spat.

Angie didn't see that Chloe was creeping up behind her. I made sure not to show my excitement on my face.

"Tell me about how you destroyed all those other worlds," I said, feigning curiosity in the hopes of keeping her distracted, "I find that hard to believe considering what little you've done her."

"I always start off small," said Angie, "A spell here, a spell there. Once I get a good feel of how that particular world works, I seek out beings that I believe I can use to my advantage."

"Really? Then what happens?"

"The last world I destroyed had a unique atmosphere," said Angie, "So I created a virus and imbued a being with it when they signed their name. It made their lungs confused so they couldn't filter the atmosphere properly."

"Over time, that virus spread to all the others until it became a massive pandemic," she continued, "Eventually, over 80% of the inhabitants were dead... All from one signature."

A twisted smile broke out on Angie's face. She was gradually losing her human appearance now. Her skin was turning yellow and she was thinning down.

"Stop smiling! You're a monster!" I roared.

"The only monster I see here are you humans," snarled Angie, "You dare to refuse Psion's magnificent light! I would gladly kill billions of heathens in His name."

"Thanks for the pen, bitch." whispered Chloe in Angie's ear.

Angie was furious. She whipped around, grabbed her pen from Chloe's hand and then stabbed her in the stomach with it all in one swift motion!

"CHLOE!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

I ran over to her and got down on my knees. There was blood everywhere.

"That was my favourite shirt..." she moaned.

"I'll buy you a new one when you pull through." I said.

"Don't you mean, if I pull through?"

A blue streak of light flew down and landed next to Chloe.

"OH MY GOD! CHLOE YOU'RE DYING!" sobbed Rachel when she materialized, "LET'S GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE THEY ATTACK ME TOO!"

"I'm not dying!" wailed Chloe, "Sawyer, I'm not dying, right?"

"I hope not." I sighed.

Rachel took Chloe's hand and teleported her back to Headquarters. Hopefully Silver and Jenna won't be too preoccupied to tend to Chloe.

"That does it!" I roared, "You can do whatever you want to me, but nobody hurts my friends and gets away with it! Nobody!"

I clenched my fists tightly. There was an enormous explosion of purple binary that created a gigantic pillar of light. It was so bright that it was almost blinding. I felt an immense surge of power.

"Sawyer, this is called Burst Mode," said my codec, "This mode was locked away deep inside me, but you activated it by truly embodying kindness."

"Kindness?" I asked.

"Yes, Sawyer, kindness. It's what I saw in you that drew me to you in the first place," said my codec, "Burst Mode doubles your power in ranger form. Making you even stronger than Riley was with his Phoenix Armour."

"I like the sound of that," I said, "That bitch is going down!"

I looked down at my suit. Burst Mode had transformed my suit. Normally the predominant colour is purple with white accents, but now the primary colour is white with purple accents. I was also emitting an aura of purple energy.

"What is this magic?" squealed Angie, sounding absolutely terrified.

"It's called Burst Mode!" I shouted, "You hurt my friend and murdered countless innocent creatures! Now it's time for justice!"

"No, please!" whimpered Angie.

"Download weapon!" I called, "Ice."

My scythe was glowing purple now too. I held it in my hand and watched as it got brighter and brighter. When I felt like it had built up enough power, I hurled it as hard as I could.

Angie knew she has finished. Her powers might let her do some pretty dangerous things, but without them, there was nothing she could do to me in Burst Mode and she knew it. She collapsed to her knees as the icy scythe struck her right in the chest.

The aura of energy dissipated as I walked over to the Angiesickle. I kicked it hard and it shattered into several pieces. I dug around in the shards until I found her pen. I smirked and then snapped it clean in two.

Instead of ink going everywhere, there was a flash of light and the pen disintegrated.

I held the two buttons on my Digitizer to teleport back to Headquarters.

"Power down." I said when I landed on the floor.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" asked Rachel.

"Four," said Riley, "Now come over here and kiss me, you know unless you're afraid of getting cooties or something."

"Very funny." said Rachel, leaning in.

I saw Chloe over on the sick bed in the corner. I ran over to her and saw that Jenna was tending to her. Her hair was a mess and she was wearing Silver's shirt over jeans that didn't look like they were buttoned up properly.

Jenna saw that I was looking at her curiously.

"Silver and I were *ahem* in the middle of making the bed when he seemed to snap out of some sort of trance," she said, blushing, "But then he ran away looking very confused before my side of the bed was finished."

"Jenna, I'm a grown man, you don't need to use metaphors," I chuckled, "How's Chloe doing?"

"She'll be fine," said Jenna, "I cleaned it up her wound and stitched it closed. Remember to thank Michelle for teaching me proper first aid techniques."

"Sawyer, there you are," said Oz, coming up behind me, "It's really weird! My mouth tastes like rubber and I've got a craving for kibble."

"Maybe you've got some sort of bug?" I asked.

"Could be," said Oz, "I'm also really itchy."

"You might want to see a doctor," I said, "It's sounds to me like you're sick as a dog."

"By the way, you owe me a new pair of shoes," said Riley, dropping the ruined shoe at his feet, "One of mine got chewed and slobbered on."

"Why is that my fault?" asked Oz confused.

"I'm sure it'll come back to you... Mutt." chuckled Riley.

"Where's Prince-er, I mean, where's Yuna?" I asked.

"Upstairs in her room with Silver," said Rachel, "I think she said something about trying to fix that medallion of hers."

"She's not going home, is she?" I asked.

"I don't think so," said Jenna, "But Silver was intrigued with the concept of time travel, so he offered to try and help her fix it."

"Did you know anything about this Burst Mode?" I asked.

"No," said Jenna, "Silver did say something about how he thought there was one more new feature in the codecs, but he wasn't able to access it."

"It's a power up, like the Phoenix Armour, only it makes us even stronger and all six of us should be able to access it," I said, "When I unlocked mine to defeat Angie, my codec told me that each of us will have to exhibit the trait that first drew our codecs to us."

"Silver will want to hear about this." said Jenna.

"Could you tell him?" I asked, "I want to go see Michelle. It's been a long and complicated day."

"Of course," said Jenna, "See you later."

I surprised Michelle that night with a home cooked supper. She was so happy, and seeing her happy made me happy. I think Chloe was right, She isn't the one for me, but Michelle very well might be. She and I might go the distance, just like I hope Riley and Rachel do.


	7. Delirium

H.E.A.L.T.H, Sector 17  
Metro City, Canada  
August 3rd, 2018  
3:59 AM

 **"Chloe Baldwin"**

It felt like the sun had come down from space and positioned itself on top of my head. I was in the hospital with a really nasty flu and a high fever. Silver thinks there's something special about the flu, because normally our codecs should protect us from getting sick.

My codec was able to heal the stab wound from that bitch, Angie, but yet it couldn't stop me from coming down with the flu. I wasn't the only one that got hit by it, thousands of others in Metro City were hospitalized from it too. Kids were especially vulnerable to it. I was however, the only member of the team that got sick.

I turned my head to look at the clock on my bedside table. It was nearly 4 o'clock in the morning and I hadn't even managed to get any sleep. It was hard to get comfortable on this stupid cot, my head was on fire and these sheets were the equivalent of paper towels compared to what I'm used to in my usual bed.

Since I knew I would never fall asleep like this, I decided to just give up. But I needed to not be in this stupid bed, I was already uncomfortable enough as it was. I gently sat upright and then carefully swung my legs over the side of the bed. My head wasn't spinning at all, it just felt hot.

Maybe if I walked around for a bit I'd feel a little better. I slowly slid off the bed so that my feet were touching the cool floor and then let go of the bed. I could stand on my own, it wasn't too bad actually.

The floor was cold, but it felt kind of nice considering how hot my head was. I started walking slowly, making sure to bring my IV thingy with me. There were a couple of orderlies in the hallway outside my room, but I crept behind them and down a different hall.

I didn't know where I wanted to go, but I didn't really care. I just needed to move around. Once I got a steady pace started, I already felt a little better. I looked up and saw that I was now in the Children's Ward.

As I drew closer, two more orderlies came walking past me pushing a stretcher with a sheet draped over it. It didn't take a genius to know that there was a body under it.

"I hate it when we lose the little ones..." one of them mumbled quietly.

One of the orderlies turned to look at me.

"Miss, you better go back to bed." he said.

"I'm already on my way." I said.

There was a small lounge area up ahead on my left. One boy was sitting at a table with a tub of crayons next to him, he was drawing a picture, but seemed to notice me without moving his head to look at me.

"You shouldn't be in here." he said.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Contagious." said the boy.

"Nah. I already got what you got," I said, "I'm Chloe by the way. What's your name?"

"Ryan." said the boy.

I came closer to see what he was drawing. It looked like an old man with a skeletal face and wispy hair. He had white eyes and no pupils. He was wearing a black bowler hat and suit. Then I saw the old man's mouth. He had lots of sharp teeth that were visible even when his mouth was closed.

"What is that?" I asked.

I know it was just a drawing, but it sent shivers down my spine.

"He comes every night and kills one of us," said Ryan, "The grown-ups can't see him."

"How do you know all of this?" I asked.

"He came into the room that me and three others are staying in," said Ryan, "He killed Hannah! I saw the whole thing, but I thought I was just having a bad dream."

"Maybe you were." I said.

"But when I woke up, Hannah was dead," he said, "And now all the doctors think the flu got her. I couldn't get back to sleep, so I came out here."

So then Hannah must be who was on that stretcher I passed. If I didn't know any better, I would say that the Crusaders are behind this, but I'm definitely not the expert.

I went back to my room after that and at some point, I think I finally managed to fall asleep. There was a moment where I woke up briefly and saw something walking down the hallway outside my room. I could've sworn it was the creature from Ryan's drawing. It looked as though it was heading to the Children's Ward.

The next thing I remember was being roused by a nurse in the morning.

"Did you get any sleep last night?" she asked, feeling my forehead.

"I think maybe a little," I said, "I feel a bit better."

"Your fever is going down," said the nurse, "But we're going to keep you here until it breaks completely."

There was a knock on the wall outside in the hall. These rooms don't have doors, they just have doorways and there are curtains that you can draw to cover them, but since I wasn't sharing my room with anyone, I didn't really feel a need to use them.

The others had come to visit me. They were all wearing face masks. It made me feel like I had smallpox or something. Jenna was acting especially weird. She kept rubbing her hands with antibacterial lotion every few minutes.

"Hey Chloe, how are you feeling?" asked Yuna, "Why do I have to wear this thing?"

"It's so you don't get sick too." said Silver.

"What is sick?" asked Yuna, "I don't think I've ever been sick."

"Consider that a blessing," said Riley, "You probably wouldn't like it."

"Actually, it's good you're here," I said, "I think the Crusaders may be up to no good again."

The nurse was still fussing about, checking my IV and tidying up the sheets.

"You know what, let's go for a walk." I said, realizing that this was probably not the best place to talk.

The nurse helped me into a wheelchair, even though I didn't really need help, or the wheelchair. Rachel grabbed the handles and pushed me in front of her at a steady pace.

We were outside in the courtyard now. It was actually really nice out. There was a nice breeze that was blowing in my face. It felt soothing.

"You were saying something about the Crusaders?" asked Jenna.

"Well, I'm not sure, it could be them," I said, "Last night I met this boy, Ryan. He said that he saw something kill a sick girl."

"You're trusting the word of a grade-schooler?" asked Oz.

"Well, that's just it," I said, "I'm pretty sure I saw it too. I mean, I was really out it, but... The kids are definitely scared of something."

"I'll talk to Michelle," said Sawyer, "She's been working with Dr. Harmon, the lead paediatrician on the flu outbreak."

"I thought Michelle worked in the ER?" asked Silver.

"She does," said Sawyer, "But there's so many sick kids that they're taking all the help they can get."

Sawyer left to go find Michelle. I'm glad I didn't have to come with him. I don't dislike her at all, she's a very nice girl and they get along well, but being around her makes me uncomfortable because of who she is.

 **"David Sawyer"**

I found Michelle in the cafeteria. She was chowing down on a hot dog that was smothered in chilli. The food in the cafeteria was actually really good. H.E.A.L.T.H employed a legitimate chef to prepare all the meals.

"I thought you were trying to cut back on meat." I teased.

"Shut up," she said with her mouth full, "I'm starving and stressed out."

Michelle was incredible. She had wavy dark hair that went all down to her chest. But right now it was tied into a tight bun held in place with a pen. she had lovely green eyes and freckles that highlighted her cute nose.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked.

"Alright," she sighed, "It's Royce."

"Who?"

"Oh, that's Dr. Harmon's first name."

"What is he named after, the sports car?"

"I honestly never thought about it." said Michelle.

"What's he doing that's stressing you out?" I asked.

"Let me preface this by saying that he's a good doctor," she said, "But I just think he's so desperate for a cure that he's not thinking clearly."

"What do you mean?"

"He wants to try an experimental treatment on the sick kids," said Michelle, "Which means that he's risking their lives in order to save their lives. It's beyond unethical."

"And there's nothing you can do to stop him?" I asked.

"No, he already got consent from all the parents," she sighed, "But it's doubtful that any of them really understood what they agreed to. I really believe that he genuinely wants to help these kids. I just don't like they way he's doing it."

"You need to relax, babe." I said.

"Tell me something I don't know."

"I once shaved my legs to win a five dollar bet," I said, "That's something you don't know."

She snorted with laughter and I kissed her on the forehead.

"Don't stay too late tonight," I said, "If I'm not busy with work I'll come over and we can order a pizza."

"Okay, but no promises."

I made it seem like I was leaving, and then I poked my head back in to take a big bite of her chilli dog.

"Hey!" she hollered playfully, swatting my hand, "That's mine! Go get your own!"

 **"Chloe Baldwin"**

"Chloe, do you think it's possible that you might be jumping the gun?" asked Silver.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"It could be that you're just assuming that the kids are afraid of a monster," he elaborated, "Sometimes children do see things that adults can't. Us. Our real selves, our hidden faces."

"So you're saying that the kids might be afraid of a regular person?"

"Yes." he said.

"Can you think of who that might be?" asked Jenna.

"Well, I suppose they might find Dr. Harmon scary, since the kids probably don't understand that he's actually trying to help them," I said, "Now that I think about it, I haven't even met the guy in person and I already get a bad vibe from him."

"Alright then," said Silver, "We'll look into this Dr. Harmon. You should focus on getting better."

Later that night I was feeling restless again. The clock on my bedside table was the kind that didn't have a digital display, instead it had this little wheel for each digit that would gradually turn from one number to the next. I spent nearly half an hour just watching the wheels turn before I realized how lame that was.

Since the hospital was closed now, the majority of the doctors would be gone by now, including Dr. Harmon, hopefully. Silver and the others were doing research, so maybe I could do a little reconnaissance.

I hopped out of my bed. I could already tell that I was feeling a lot better because I could move around much easier than before. I didn't know exactly where Dr. Harmon's office was, so I had to use the directional cue signs scattered across the ward.

Eventually I found his office, but when I got there, I heard screaming and other noises that would indicate a struggle. I tried to open the door, but before I could, something kicked it open. I moved out of the way just in time.

Dr. Harmon had huge gashes on his chest and was bleeding profusely. He was being dragged by his ankles by something that I couldn't see. I ran forward to try and help him, but whatever was dragging him shoved me hard in the chest.

As I got to my feet, I watched helplessly as Dr. Harmon disappeared down the hallway, leaving a trail of blood behind on the floor.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ryan creep over to me. He had another boy and a girl with him this time. I hadn't met them before.

"He'll came back tomorrow to kill one of us." said Ryan.

"Ryan, listen to me," I said, "The grown-ups don't believe you about the monster, but I do. I'm not going to let this thing hurt any of you. I promise."

"How can you promise that?" asked the girl.

"Just like how there are monsters, there also people who fight those monsters," I said, "And I'm one of them."

In the morning, Riley, Rachel and Silver came to back for another visit.

"Good news," said Rachel, "The doctors say we can take you home."

"I'm not leaving until I know the kids are safe." I said.

"We scoured Dr. Harmon's background yesterday," said Silver, "He's had a couple of malpractice suits, but all of them were dropped. His methods are a bit extreme, but they definitely get results."

"He really is just trying to help these kids." said Riley.

"It wasn't Dr. Harmon. He was clean. Something killed him last night and not with a kindness." I said.

"You saw it?" asked Riley.

"No, it's invisible, but it shoved me away when I tried to help Dr. Harmon," I said, "Which means that whatever the hell it is, is real, and we have to stop it before it hurts anyone else."

"We need to know more about this flu," said Rachel, "Maybe something in Dr. Harmon's office can shed some light on it?"

"That's what I was trying to do last night," I said, "I already know where his office is, let's go together."

Rachel nodded at me and then indicated that she'll follow my lead.

"You two should go to the Children's Ward and stand guard," I said as we passed by them, "Just don't go inside or you'll get sick too."

"Call us if you need us." said Riley.

"Will do." said Rachel.

I was wearing street clothes now, so I didn't look like a patient. This made it easier to traverse the halls. Most orderlies just assumed that we were here to visit someone and left us alone.

We arrived Dr. Harmon's office after a few minutes. It looked exactly the same as it did last night, except the blood on the floor was gone. I kind of expected it to be full of those little yellow things they place near evidence at crime scenes.

So either no one knew Dr. Harmon was missing yet, or they just weren't making it a big deal. I suppose I can understand that, there were still a lot of sick people, with more coming in everyday. At least if they were too busy to investigate Dr. Harmon's murder, they were doing it for the right reason.

We stepped inside and gently closed the door behind us. Rachel made her way over to the desk at far end of the office, while I examined the state of the room itself.

"That explains all the noise I heard." I said.

"What noise?" asked Rachel.

She wasn't paying full attention to me, she was focusing on looking through all the stuff on Dr. Harmon's desk.

"Last night, I got here too late to stop the monster from killing the doctor," I said, "But I heard a lot of commotion from the hall outside."

"I think I found something." said Rachel.

"Nice job, Sherlock." I said, walking over to her.

"It looks like Dr. Harmon was trying to inoculate the kids with a controlled dosage of the same virus they already had." she said.

I gave her a look to let her know that I understood none of that.

"Oh, sorry," said Rachel, "Basically, if I'm understanding this right, he was raising their temperatures to burn the fever out of them."

"Would that work?" I asked.

"According to his notes, it was starting to." said Rachel.

"Well, that would explain why this thing killed him," I said, "Whatever it is, it probably sees the Children's Ward as an all you can eat buffet. And Dr. Harmon was curing the kids, inadvertently taking away all the food."

"I think I get it now," said Rachel, "You said you saw Dr. Harmon get dragged away, but you didn't see what was dragging him?"

"It was invisible, but it shoved me." I said.

"It's not invisible," said Rachel, "Well, not completely at least. It's the fever from the flu. All the kids can see it because they still have the fever, and you saw it the night you met Ryan, but then your fever cleared up and now all of a sudden, you can't see it anymore."

"Which means that the only way I'll be able to see this thing is if I was to get sick with the flu again," I said, "But that's a bad idea because, a) I already got over the flu, and b) I'd have to go through the whole process of getting better again."

"I don't think that'll be too much of a problem," said Rachel, "If this thing is an agent of the Crusaders, then it was probably the Crusaders that unleashed this flu in the first place."

"Right, so as soon as we beat this thing, everyone that's sick should get better instantly," I said, "So now the question becomes how we're going to get me sick again."

"Leave that to me." said Rachel.

Rachel called Riley, Oz, Yuna and Sawyer and they teleported into Dr. Harmon's office moments later. Rachel walked over to a small fridge in the corner of the room and opened it. Inside were various vials of liquid. It looked like water, but something tells me that's not what they were are.

"This is a controlled version of the same flu Chloe and all the kids have," said Rachel, "This agent is invisible unless you have the fever from the virus, so Chloe is going to make herself sick again so that at least one of us will be able to see the agent."

"But then you'll still be sick after the battle, won't you?" asked Sawyer.

"Well, this isn't a normal virus," said Rachel, "We think the Crusaders created it specifically so that this agent could kill children by eating them. As soon as we defeat the agent, everyone that has the flu should be cured, Chloe included."

"There's a lot uncertainties in your theory, Rachel." said Riley.

"I don't think we have many other options at this juncture." she said.

"We're wasting time," I said, "That thing could already be in the Children's Ward!"

I reached into the fridge and grabbed a vial from a stand of other vials. I uncorked it and was about to take a swig when Rachel stopped me.

"Chloe, no!" she yelped, "That's 100% pure! It'll kill you in an instant."

"Oh. They really should put that on the label or something."

Rachel took the vial from me and then grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. She fumbled around in Harmon's desk until she found what looked like a mini turkey baster.

There was an empty glass on the counter by the fridge. Rachel poured some water from the bottle in the glass, and then used the baster to suck up some of the liquid from the vial.

"It needs to be diluted." she explained, as she squeezed the baster.

Two small drops dripped out and fell into the water. Rachel swirled the glass around to mix the concoction together and then handed it to me.

"One sip is all you should need." she said.

I brought the glass to my mouth and stared apprehensively at it momentarily.

"Have you given any thought about how you're going to help us fight this thing with a temperature of 107?" asked Riley.

"Relax, I'll have you guys to back me up," I said, "Besides, the fever is the key. Rachel said it herself."

Rachel closed her eyes momentarily as if she was trying to come up with a better idea. She sighed and then opened them again before nodding at me.

"Here's to my health." I said, taking a sip.

The effects were instantaneous. It felt like my head had burst into flames again. I felt woozy and fell to my knees, but Rachel caught me.

"Let's go..." I mumbled weakly.

"Rangers," came Silver's voice from our Digitizers, "The children are gone!"

"What do you mean, they're gone?" asked Oz.

"I mean they're not in the Children's Ward anymore," said Silver, "But they didn't come past me either."

"We'll be right there." said Sawyer.

Silver greeted us when we rounded the corner into the Children's Ward. When he noticed that Rachel was helping me walk, he looked at me curiously.

"Chloe, what's wrong?" he asked.

"I made myself sick again," I groaned, "The fever is the only way to see this thing."

"One on hand, I'm proud of how much you've grown as a person," he said, "But on the other hand, that was a pretty dumb thing to do."

"These kids need our help, Silver!" I coughed.

He led us farther into the ward. I saw that all the rooms were empty. All the doctors and nurses were looking horrified and confused.

"Rachel, look!" I moaned, pointing into one of the rooms.

Standing up against the back wall was the agent. Ryan's drawing was a pretty accurate representation of it. He turned to look at me and sneered. Then he opened a door on the wall behind him. I squinted and saw that it said "Basement Access".

"What am I looking at?" asked Rachel, "There's nothing there."

"Yes there is," I said, weakly, "The agent was just in there. He went down to the basement. He can probably smell the kids. Which means they must be down there too."

"Oz, here," said Rachel, "Carry Chloe. We'll be faster that way."

Once Oz was holding me, he looked down at me.

"You're not gonna yak on me, are you?" he asked.

"It's tempting." I said.

The basement was down a long set of stairs and had pipes across each set of walls.

"Michelle says that this basement connects all of the different buildings that make up H.E.A.L.T.H," said Sawyer, "In winter they use these tunnels to get around, instead of walking out in the cold."

We came to a fork in the tunnels.

"Chloe, which way?" asked Yuna.

Oz held me higher up so that I could see better. Down the right path, I could've sworn I saw the faintest outline of a silhouette.

"I think he went right." I wheezed.

"Just in case he's waiting for us, we should probably ranger up." said Riley.

Oz gently put me down so he could morph with the others.

"Ready?" asked Riley.

"READY!" said the others.

"Red Ranger!, CYBER POWER!" shouted Riley.

"Yellow Ranger!, CYBER POWER!" shouted Oz.

"Green Ranger!, CYBER POWER!" shouted Yuna.

"Blue Ranger!, CYBER POWER!" shouted Rachel.

"Purple Ranger!, CYBER POWER!" shouted Sawyer.

I saw all the bright flashes and shining lights as the five of transformed. Once they were all in their colourful ranger suits, Yellow reached down and carefully picked me back up.

"Let's go rangers!" shouted Red.

We ran forward toward the end of the tunnel and into a large clearing. It was a dead end. A group of around a dozen kids were all huddled together up against the wall, trembling with fear.

"He's in here!" I shouted.

I saw that the agent was sitting on top of Ryan, pinning him to the ground. The agent's eyes bulged and popped out his head. His eyes stretched until they resembled a stem, then the eyeballs themselves opened like a shell, revealing two suction cup like appendages that the agent then attached to Ryan's forehead.

"I don't see him, Chloe, where is he?" asked Red.

"No..." I moaned, "Ryan..."

I closed my eyes and big tears started to form in the corner of my eye. I clenched my fists tightly. There was an enormous explosion of orange binary that created a gigantic pillar of light. It was so bright that it was almost blinding. I felt an immense surge of power and without me even having to do anything, I transformed into ranger form.

"Chloe, this is called Burst Mode," said my codec, "This mode was locked away deep inside me, but you activated it by truly embodying selflessness."

"Selflessness?" I asked.

"Your desire to help others in need is so strong that you have risked your own health. Now use this power to save Ryan!" said my codec.

I didn't feel sick anymore. I felt strong and powerful. I could also see the agent now. I rocketed towards the agent and kicked him the head as hard as I could. He was flying and crashed into the wall.

"You make me sick!" I snapped, "Ryan, are you okay?"

"I think so," he said, getting to his feet, "How do you know my name?"

"It's um... One of the superpowers that all Power Rangers have." I said.

"I recognize your voice," said Ryan, "Chloe? Is that you?"

"Alright fine," I sighed, "It's me. But don't tell anyone."

"I won't. I promise."

"Ewww!" moaned Blue, "If that's the agent, I can see it now too!"

"Chl-er, I mean, Orange!?" gasped Yellow, "When did you morph? And why does your suit look different?"

"I'll explain later," I said, "Get the kids out of here, I'll handle the agent."

"I thought you were sick?" asked Green.

"Not anymore," I said, "This burst mode is awesome!"

The others scrambled around and gathered up all the kids. Purple and Yellow had two kids in their arms and two on their shoulders, for a total of all twelve kids in one trip. I turned to the agent who sneered at me again.

"Where do I even start with you?" I snapped, "You unleashed a nasty virus on our city, killed innocent children by feeding on them and murdered the doctor that was trying to save them!"

"Your pathetic world deserves much worse," wheezed the agent, he didn't just look like an old man, he sounded like one too, "Psion is only true and rightful deity! You humans insult Him every day with your ignorance!"

"By that logic, all the Crusaders are just as guilty as we are!" I shouted, "There's plenty of different deities in our world that and you don't know about, but we don't slaughter you!"

"You wretched girl, weren't you listening?" snarled the agent, "The ONLY rightful deity is Psion. Any others are imposters and their very existence is offensive to Him. His laws clearly state that anything that doesn't follow His teachings doesn't deserve to live!"

"You know what?" I asked exasperatedly, "I don't see this being settled with logic."

The agent sneered at me again.

"Download weapon!" I called.

My weapon materialized in my outstretched hand. I switched to flail mode and swung it around to build up some speed.

"Earth." I said.

A cloud of dust appeared at the head of my flail, indicating that my weapon would now channel my synthetic element with each attack.

"Just be done with it," said the agent, "You can clearly that I'm old and feeble. I don't have any fancy attacks like the other agents. Just kill me and I'll be able to feel Psion's loving embrace."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" I asked, "But you know, I think I have an even better idea about what to do with you."

With a flourish, I turned my flail back into mace mode again. Then I pointed it at the agent as if it was a magic wand and chunks of rock shot out of it and encased the agent in a thick layer of stone.

"You're coming with me." I said, grabbing the statue that was the agent.

I teleported a currently incomplete area of the upcoming Sector 22 and found a nice stretch of unpaved road. I used my flail to dig a hole deep enough for the statue, and then covered it back up. Now all I had to do was wait until they covered it with cement and asphalt.

With the agent dealt with, I teleported back to the hospital and powered down once I arrived. I made my way back up to the Children's Ward and smiled when I saw that everyone was back in their rooms.

Ryan gave me a big grin as I walked past him back towards the desk in my ward. I wasn't sick anymore, and the doctors had said I could check out today. After I filled out the paperwork and cleaned out my office, Silver came up to find me.

"Ready to go home?" he asked.

"Absolutely." I said.

He brought me back to Headquarters with him. Everyone was talking about my newly discovered Burst Mode, but it wasn't as big of a deal this time because Sawyer was the first one, so we all knew what it was now.

"So Chloe, what did you do with the agent?" asked Yuna, "Why didn't you just destroy him like all the others?"

"Because he wanted me to," I said, "He straight up told me that he was ready to die because he wanted to 'feel Psion's loving embrace' or whatever."

"That's how the Crusaders justify their actions," said Yuna, "They believe they're doing Psion's work and that nothing done in service of a god can be considered a sin."

"Exactly," I said, "So rather than just let him off easy, I used my synthetic element to turn him into a statue. Then I buried him under an unfinished area of Sector 22."

"I like it," said Silver, "He'll probably still die... Eventually. But at least this way he doesn't get what he wants."

"Oh, and by the way Chloe, Ryan wanted me to give you this." said Jenna.

She handed me an envelope. I opened it and pulled out another drawing. It was of me, kicking the agent in the head. There was a note scrawled in the bottom of the drawing that said: To Chloe, my hero.


	8. Memories

Connor Ranch  
2 Miles Outside Metro City  
August 10th, 2018  
Midnight

 **"Riley Bishop"**

I woke up in a dark, drafty building that smelled like manure. I looked up and saw that there was a large hole in the roof above me, it was either very late or very early, because the sky was still dark.

It seemed like I came crashing down and landed inside this weird building. I got up and tried to look around, but there wasn't much to see. After feeling around for a while I decided that I was laying on a pile of hay.

I stood up and felt around again until I found a wall. It was made of wood, and there was a small hole in one of the boards, so I peeked through the hole to take a look outside, but it was too dark to make out anything.

"Well, you're not a coyote." said a girl's voice.

She had stuck her eye into the same gap as me, but from the other side. I wasn't expecting it and scampered back.

"Daddy, I think there's a boy in the barn!" she hollered, "I'm gonna let him out!"

"Ask him what the hell he's doing on my property!" came a gruff older man's voice, "And make sure it ain't another of those blue skinned bastards before you let him out!"

"How can I see if he's got blue skin if he's inside the barn!?" she shouted back.

I heard the fumbling of metal as the girl unlocked the door and swung it open.

"Come on out, we won't hurt you." she said.

"Where am I?" I moaned.

"The Connor Ranch, a few miles outside of Metro City," said the girl, "I'm Erin. What's your name?"

"I don't know. I can't remember anything." I sighed.

 **(5 Hours Earlier)**

"Alright," I said, "For my turn, I'm going to go over to the grocery store to search for food. And because I'm playing with the farmer, I get to draw two cards instead of one, which betters the chances that I'll find food."

"Roll for exposure," said Sawyer, "Remember, every time you change locations, you have to roll the exposure dice."

We were new to table top games. Sawyer was teaching us a game Michelle taught him how to play called "Dead of Winter". It has everyone on a team against zombies. Pretty cool. We usually play stuff like Clue, Monopoly or cards. But this was on a whole new level.

I rolled the dice and it landed on a blank space, which means nothing happens. There's also the wound icon, which injures that character, the frostbite icon, which causes that character to take a wound every turn, if they take three wounds, they die. Lastly, there's the bite icon, which instantly kills that character and has a chance of spreading the bite to other players.

"Why does rolling this cube hurt people?" asked Yuna, "And if it hurts us, then why don't we just stop rolling it?"

"It's not really hurting people, it's just a game," said Sawyer, "You have a valid point though. We roll the dice because that's the rules of the game. If we didn't there'd be no challenge."

"And challenge is fun?" she asked.

"Usually yes." said Rachel."

"Alright, Yuna, it's your turn." I said.

"Well, if I'm understanding this right," she said, "I have two characters here, which means I can use either of them to perform actions on my turn?"

"Now you're getting it," said Sawyer, "Don't be afraid to ask for help."

"So I think with this character, I'm going to stay at the base, but with this character, I'm going to go out to the police station to look for supplies," said Yuna, "Which means I have to roll for exposure for the one that's moving?"

"By George, I think she's got it." said Rachel.

"Who's George?" asked Yuna.

"Nevermind, it's a figure of speech." said Rachel.

Yuna moved the cardboard figure of her one character to the police station and rolled the dice. It landed on the wound icon.

"Unlucky," said Oz, "You got hurt. Here's a wound token, put it on the card that matches that character so you can keep track of how many wounds you have."

"How do I get rid of them?" asked Yuna.

"You either have to find medicine while searching for supplies, or come back to base and let me heal you, because one of my characters is a doctor." said Rachel.

"But you only have one wound right now," said Sawyer, "You shouldn't worry until you get a second one. If you get a second one that is."

"Yeah, because if any of our characters die, we lose a morale, and if our morale drops to zero, we automatically lose." said Chloe.

"I think I'm starting to understand," said Yuna, "This game is very accurate to what it was like for me in the future. Do you think that maybe the person who developed this game is also a time traveller?"

"Probably not." chuckled Sawyer.

As the game progressed, it quickly became clear that we weren't going to win. On top of a long term goal which is different every game, each round also has a minor crisis that must be dealt with. If you don't, your morale will go down.

"Alright losers," said Oz, "Normally, you can't do this, but since we already know that there's no way we can win..."

Oz flipped over his face down goal card. In big red letters written in a font that looked like it was drawn by a finger in blood, was the word "BETRAYAL".

"I might as well reveal that I was a traitor all along!" Oz sneered.

"I kind of figured," I said, "You did abandon each of us multiple times throughout the game. I was going to suggest we exile you, but I figured dealing with the crisis or finding food was more important."

"Yeah, morale had to be at 0 and at least 10 characters had to die in order for me to win. But since I can't kill anyone, I kept trying to let the zombies do it for me. It didn't work."

"Actually, Oz, you CAN kill other survivors. But doing that would've immediately given you away as a traitor." said Sawyer.

"I'm just amazed we actually got to finish a game," said Chloe, "Usually the sirens start blaring in the middle of our games and we have to leave them unfinished."

The sirens started screeching at us. We all ran towards the middle of Headquarters to meet up with Silver and Jenna.

"You had to say it, didn't you, Chloe?" asked Sawyer.

"The Crusaders are attacking Sector 15," said Jenna, "It's a bunch of those foot soldier things."

"I still think we should dub them Creepers." said Rachel.

"Alright, fine," said Jenna, "There's a squad of Creepers attacking Sector 15."

"Remember how the Crusaders claim that their numbers are into the trillions?" asked Yuna to the room at large, "That's a false claim. Those Creepers, as Rachel calls them aren't organic life forms. They're spawned from a machine that recycles the remains of defeated ones to create new ones."

"Well, I suppose that's good news," said Sawyer, "Creepers are much easier to take down than agents."

"They are for now," said Yuna, "But remember that Commander Astrid and the entire Crusader army are hovering high in the sky. She's probably watching each and every battle against us and taking notes. She didn't become battle commander for nothing."

Although it probably sounds horrible, I actually find that Astrid's experience in commanding troops makes her a much more interesting opponent than Trojan. I know she's evil and wants us all dead, but in a sick sort of way, I feel like half the fun of being a Power Ranger and protecting Earth is outsmarting the villains.

"It's time to kick some Creeper ass," I said, "Let's ranger up!"

We arranged ourselves into the typical six person formation.

"Red Ranger! CYBER POWER!" I shouted.

"Orange Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Chloe.

"Yellow Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Oz.

"Green Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Yuna.

"Blue Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Rachel.

"Purple Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Sawyer.

All six of us were now decked out in our coloured costumes.

"Get going Rangers," said Silver, "Show the Crusaders that they picked the wrong world to mess with!"

We all pressed and held the two smallest buttons on our Digitizers to teleport. Moments later, we had flown up through the ceiling of Headquarters and out into the evening sky.

Teleporting is instantaneous, but despite that, we can still see as we rocket through the air faster than the eye can see. I remember I used to get vertigo from the sensation, but now it's become like second nature to me.

We touched down in Sector 15 seconds later and saw the Creepers. They were still just as ugly as ever, the setting sun meant we could now see that the Creepers glisten because of how slimy they are. It was absolutely disgusting.

"Download weapon!" we called in unison.

My katana, Blue's ring blade, Yellow's shield, Green's shotgun, Orange's flail and Purple's scythe each materialized into the outstretched hand of their owner.

The Creepers saw this and charged at us. We made short work of them, but then from up above, more piles of pale blue goop came raining down.

"Looks like Astrid sends her regards." said Green.

"Then let's send them right back." I said.

The fight against the Creepers was remarkably uneventful. It was like they weren't even trying. They just kept running right at us.

"I'm not even breaking a sweat!" said Yellow, "You hear that, Bitch!? You'll have to do a lot better than that!"

"Yellow, I don't think that's a good idea." said Orange.

"What's she gonna do?" jeered Yellow, "If she was brave enough to fight us herself, she would've done it a long time ago."

Instantly, all the nearby Creepers melted into puddles of blue goop. Then those puddles evaporated, leaving nothing behind.

From the sky above the clouds, something was plummeting straight towards the ground. It was moving too fast for me to see what exactly it was. But it didn't matter, Green knew exactly what it was.

"Oh no..." wailed Green, "Astrid! She's here!"

 **(Present Time)**

Erin brought me inside the house and let me take a shower. Once I was done, I put my clothes back on and she led me to the kitchen downstairs and instructed me to sit down at the table across from her.

Erin had long copper hair that was tied into two braids. She had an athletic body type and wasn't necessarily as curvy as Rachel or Chloe, but you could still tell that she was a girl. She had gentle features and big brown eyes.

"You mind telling me what you were doing in our barn?" asked Erin.

"I don't remember. Everything before waking up in the barn is a blank." I said, scratching my head.

"We heard a loud crash that woke us up," said Erin, "Daddy grabbed the 12 gauge and was ready to shoot first and questions later. But I convinced him to at least let me see what made the noise first."

"Why did he want to go in guns blazing?" I asked.

"We've been having trouble with coyotes," said Erin, "They hide in the barn and sneak over to the chicken coop and eat them. It's been hard around here lately. First Ma died, and then Travis too."

"If you don't mind me asking," I said, "How did they die?"

"You'll think I'm crazy." she said.

"Try me." I said.

"Alright," said Erin, "About a month ago, these blue monsters landed in our field, kicked down our front door and murdered them. Daddy and I were at the grocery store at the time..."

The words "grocery store" seemed to stir something in the back of my mind, but I didn't know what it meant. I guess you could call it déjà vu, but I couldn't remember why I felt that way.

"Go on." I said.

"We came back to find Ma dead and Travis dying," sobbed Erin, "H-he used his last breath to tell me what happened."

"That's horrible," I said, "Did you call the police?"

"Of course," said Erin, "After an autopsy, the coroner decided they both died of natural causes. I don't believe it though. Something killed them; I just don't know what."

"It sounds like you could use some help around here," I said, "At least until I can remember who I am."

"You'll want to speak with my Dad, but I don't see why you can't stay here so long as you earn your keep," said Erin, "Do you have any experience working on a ranch?"

"I have no idea," I said, "But I'll give it my best shot. Your father isn't going to try and shoot me again, is he?"

"No." chuckled Erin.

 **(6 Hours Earlier)**

"Nice going, Yellow," said Purple, "You pissed her off. Er, I mean more so than she already was."

"About time." said Yellow, cracking his knuckles.

"No, you don't understand!" sobbed Green, "Astrid is insanely powerful!"

Astrid landed on the ground and stood up. She was very tall, maybe an inch or two taller than even Yellow. She had white skin and dark red splotches over her eyes, which were menacing, yellow and very snake-like.

She had lots of long sharp teeth in her mouth. Her hands were bony and only had four fingers, but they ended in claws. She had pointed ears, like an elf and her hair was light blue with two long horn-like locks running down her back, and a large bang falling over her face. She was wearing a skin-tight body suit.

"Green, what's with the red splotches?" I asked.

"It's blood. Human blood," said Green, "Depending on which world they're attacking, she uses blood from the dominant species of that world as war paint."

"So..." said Astrid, "You six are the Power Rangers? I was expecting something a bit more impressive. But you're just ordinary humans. That's no fun."

Her voice was shrill and pierced like daggers. It sounded like a whisper, but she spoke loud enough that we could still hear her perfectly fine.

"You might as well just give up now," said Astrid, "This world is not the first one we've destroyed and it certainly won't be the last."

"That's where you're wrong," I said, "You Crusaders are heartless monsters. You travel around and murder innocent beings just because your so called god tells you to?"

"Psion's word is law," she said, "He has blessed us with His glorious light so that we can hunt down and destroy all those who defy him. And if I ever hear you refer to him as a "so called god" again, I'll eviscerate you. Got it?"

"We're not afraid of you, Astrid." I said.

"You should be," she cackled, "Because for your defiance, we've been given permission to do whatever we want to your pathetic species. So long as it gets the job done,"

"We're not defying Psion!" shouted Blue, "We don't even know who he is. He's a god from another dimension!"

"You're wasting your time," said Astrid, "We're not the ones that decide which worlds must be destroyed, we're merely the weapons the Oracles use to attack."

"Forget I asked," I said, "You came here to fight, so let's fight!"

"So be it." said Astrid.

She flexed the fingers on her left hand and those lethal looking claws grew significantly longer. Each of them were now about 7" long.

"It's a shame she wants us dead," said Orange, "I wouldn't mind taking her for a manicure."

"Orange you're such a girl..." sighed Yellow.

"You're just now figuring that out?"

"Guys, focus please! Astrid is an incredible fighter. We need to focus!" gasped Green.

Astrid hadn't moved yet. She was just standing there, staring at us with a twisted smile on her face.

"What's she doing, Green?" asked Blue.

"Strategizing." she whispered.

"She's a sitting duck," I said, "I say we use the VR on her."

"Could work." said Purple.

Our weapons disintegrated and turned into a flurry of data. The six different swarms then combined and reshaped until they solidified into the Virus Reaper.

"Virus Reaper, online!" we announced in unison.

I grabbed one of the handles as we took aim. The familiar laser sight showed us the path the bolt would follow once we pulled the trigger.

"Five…" said Purple.

"Four…" said Orange.

"Three…" said Yellow.

"Two…" said Green.

"One…" said Blue.

"FIRE!" I shouted.

With an electronic twanging sort of sound, the VR shot the bolt. There was a loud boom as the bolt broke the sound barrier.

Astrid stood there and looked unimpressed as the bolt raced towards her. Then at the last second, she held up her hand and the bolt bounced off her palm and shot back towards us!

About halfway through the return trip, the bolt split into six identical bolts. There was nothing we could do to block or dodge, each of us got hit right in the chest. We all powered down and lay on the ground, writhing in pain.

 **(Present Time)**

Erin took me to living room of the farm house. Her father was sitting on the sofa. He seemed to be either in his later thirties or early forties, but he was in such good shape that he could pass for late twenties, early thirties.

"Where are you from, boy?" he asked.

"I don't know sir." I said.

"He seems to have amnesia," said Erin, walking up beside me, "He doesn't know his name or where he came from. Anything."

"Unless he's faking to gain our trust." said her father, staring intently at me.

"Why would I lie?" I asked, "What would I have to gain from that?"

"You're right," he said, "You seem trustworthy enough. The name's Lars. Lars Connor."

Lars held out his hand and I took it so we could shake hands.

"So if you don't know your name, then what do we call you?"

I heard a whisper from the back of my mind and a name popped into my head. Whether or not it's my name, I have no idea.

"How about Michael?" I suggested.

"Michael offered to help us out on the ranch, at least until he gets his memories back," said Erin, "I thought he could stay in Travis' old room."

"I don't see why not," said Lars, "Are you sure you're comfortable with that, Darling? He was your twin brother after all."

"Yes," sighed Erin, "I figure he would've wanted us to move on with our lives."

"First we'll have some breakfast, and then we'll take you around the ranch and show you how things go during a typical day," said Lars, "How do you like your coffee?"

"Actually, I don't drink coffee." I said instinctively.

"That sure seems like a memory to me, Michael." said Erin.

"I guess so." I said, eagerly.

 **"Rachel Parker"  
** **(4 Hours Earlier)**

I tried to move, but it felt like there was something heavy on my chest, pinning me to the ground. I would imagine the others were in a similar predicament.

"Are you six really the best this world can do?" asked Astrid, retracting the claws on her left hand, "The Oracles warned us that humans might be harder to completely wipe out than some of the other species we've dealt with before, but maybe they were misinformed?"

Astrid strode over to Riley and picked him up by the arm. She held him with only two fingers, much like how Chloe would probably hold one of Oz's gym socks.

"So you're their leader, huh?" said Astrid, "Let's see what happens to your team without you around to command them."

"Do your worst." groaned Riley.

She pressed two fingers to Riley's forehead and he screamed in pain. Then she threw him far away, carelessly, as if he was just a baseball.

"RILEY!" I shrieked.

Astrid looked down at us and shrugged.

"You're not even worth my time," she said, "There's no challenge in it for me."

"What did you do to him!?" I sobbed.

"I wiped his memories." said Astrid.

She looked at me and smirked, before jumping high into the air and vanishing seemingly into thin air. She probably returned to the Crusader's hovercraft.

 **"Stephen "Silver" Silverstone"**

The Rangers returned to Headquarters bruised and beaten, but still alive and as well as could be expected, considering they just fought the leader of the Crusaders.

Based on what I saw of the fight, she went easy on them. And I thought Trojan was powerful after escaping from Cyberspace.

"I can't believe Astrid actually came down because of what I said," sighed Oz, "If I'd known that she was that strong, or that she was listening, I would've kept my mouth shut."

"She probably would've come down either way," said Yuna, "Astrid likes to observe her targets before she ever confronts them herself. To us, we're like animals in a zoo."

"You know what zoos are?" asked Sawyer.

"One of my earliest memories with my parents is going to the zoo," said Yuna, "We had no idea that later that same day, the Crusaders would come and start murdering people left and right."

"How are we supposed to fight someone like Astrid?" asked Chloe, "The VR is our strongest weapon and she just sent it right back at us like it was nothing."

"We won't beat her on the battlefield," said Yuna, "We have to somehow crush her spirit and make her lose her desire to keep fighting."

"Is that even possible?" asked Oz, "She's devout in her belief that eradicating innocent worlds for this Psion guy is the greater good."

"I don't know," said Yuna, "But until we figure it out, we'll just keep fighting against whatever agents she sends after us."

"Why didn't she kill us?" asked Chloe, "She could have. We were defeated and couldn't fight back."

"You heard her," said Sawyer, "She says we're not worth the effort. Based on what she's seen of us so far, she doesn't consider us to be a threat. She thinks that no matter what we do, she'll still win eventually."

"Maybe that's it?" asked Oz, "If we prove her wrong, maybe she'll realize that she should've killed us when she had the chance and surrender? We don't technically have to fight her, just the monsters she sends after us."

"I hope you're right." said Yuna.

"I'm sorry you guys, but I can't just sit around and talk without knowing where Riley is or if he's okay," said Rachel frantically, "Silver, can't you use his Digitizer or codec to track him?"

"Don't you think I thought of that?" I asked, "This is a unique situation that I never would've anticipated could even happen."

"How so?" asked Oz.

"The bond between you and your codecs is a two way street," said Silver, "If the owner forgets about the codec, or in poor Marcus' case, the owner dies, that bond shatters and is fractured."

"Which is why you had to take the green codec into Cyberspace before it could bond with a new master, which ended up being you, Yuna," said Jenna, "Because Riley doesn't remember who he is, or well, anything else for that matter, the bond between him and his codec is broken."

"Meaning that until Riley gets his memories back, he won't be able to use his codec, or benefit from any of the perks associated with having one," I said, "And because his codec isn't currently bonded with him, it'll have gone dormant by now, just like how they did after Trojan's defeat."

"So that's why you can't track him?" asked Rachel, "Because his codec is hibernating?"

"I don't like it anymore than you do." I said.

"You're a technological genius, Silver!" roared Rachel, "If the software you currently have can't track Riley, then make something that can! My fiancée is out there, alone, confused and probably terrified! I'm not just going to sit and twiddle my thumbs waiting for him to come back. Do you understand me!?"

"Yes ma'am." I said.

"Thank you," said Rachel, calming down, "As for the rest of you, I would really appreciate your help in tracking down Riley."

"Of course we'll help, Rach," said Oz, "Just tell us what you want us to do."

After Rachel's outburst, I stayed in Headquarters, hard at work designing a new program to help locate Riley. Rachel took the others and scoured every corner of the city, but they found nothing.

She came back with her head hung and had been sitting on the couch looking at her shoes ever since they got back.

"I think I might have something." I said.

Even though she didn't teleport, Rachel appeared beside me seconds later. I've never seen anything move that fast before.

"What have you got?" she asked.

"I'm using one of the Silversoft satellites to look for Riley," I said, "And, on a ranch a couple miles outside of town, I found this."

It was a top down view of a barn with man shaped hole in the roof.

"So I used the new software to calculate a rough estimate of where Riley might have landed based on his weight, the angle Astrid threw him and her approximate strength." I said.

"And?" asked Rachel.

"This barn is within the estimated area. I can't guarantee that he'll be there, but it's definitely a step in the right direction," I said, "But don't teleport. I'll drive you in my car tomorrow morning."

"Silver, I could kiss you," said Rachel, pulling me in for a one armed hug, "But I won't."

"Good, because that would be highly inappropriate." I said.

"How about me? Nobody will care if you kiss me." said Oz.

"Nice try." said Rachel.

 **"Riley Bishop"**

The next morning, the most expensive looking car I've ever seen in my life drove up the path to the ranch. It felt like I should recognize it, but I didn't. It was infuriating.

A beautiful girl with red hair and an older man with silver streaks in his hair got out of the car and walked up the sidewalk to the front door. They knocked at the door and Erin answered it. I could sort of hear what they were saying.

"Hello, we're looking for a missing person," said the girl, "His name is Riley, but we think he lost his memories. Here's a picture of him. And here's one of us together. He's my fiancée."

"Well, that certainly does look like Michael." said Erin.

"Michael?" asked the man and girl together, sounding very confused.

"That's what he decided to call himself."

"That was his father's name," said the girl, "He must not have lost ALL his memories. Could I please talk to him?"

"Michael, your fiancée is here," said Erin, "She wants to talk to you."

I went over to the door and looked at the girl. She was beautiful, but when I looked at her, I felt nothing. Her face lit up when she saw me though. And then she pulled me in for a big hug.

"I missed you," she said, "I'm so glad you're oaky."

"Lady, I don't know you," I said, when she let me go, "You must have me confused for someone else."

"No Riley, I don't," said the girl, "Astrid took away your memories."

"Come back to Headquarters with us and we'll try to get them back." said the man.

"Look," said the girl, handing me a picture, "This is a picture of you and me together."

"Even if I did come back with you," I said, "I don't remember who I am, or who you are. It wouldn't feel right."

"You're only saying that because you don't remember." said the girl, a tear forming in the corner of her eye.

"If I do get them back, I might not be the same person you know me as," I said, "Now I'm sorry, but we've got work to do on the ranch."

I closed the door in her face.

"Michael? Why didn't you go with them?" asked Erin, "She said she was your fiancée. She was pretty too."

"I can't even remember her. I think I'll just stay here for the time being."

"You know, there's a chance that your memories might not come back." said Erin.

"Would that really be so bad?" I asked.

I had a feeling that Erin was crushing on me. She had a certain look in her eye whenever she looked at me. Since I was here now, I figured I might as well see if my feeling was right. I leaned in for a kiss, and she met me halfway.

It was nice, but again, I didn't feel anything. Whether it's because I didn't really know her yet, or because I couldn't remember that I shouldn't be kissing other girls, I don't know.

"Erin! Grab the 12 gauge, quick! There's another of those murderous blue freaks in the field!"

She broke off from the kiss and ran outside. I followed her and saw that Lars was grappling with a creature that had powdery pale blue skin.

I looked curiously at the creature and saw that it's red eyes lacked pupils or irises. Instead of a nose, it had two snake like slits. Below the slits were four strange tentacles that grew down and covered it's mouth.

"I am an agent of the Crusaders!" it warbled, "This world has been selected for annihilation by the Oracles. Stop struggling and embrace death!"

Erin ran back into the house past me and came back shortly afterwards with a shotgun held tightly in her hands.

"Heads up!" she called, throwing it at Lars.

The creature's arm stretched like an elastic band and intercepted the shotgun before Lars could catch it. Then it smashed him in the side of the head with the butt of the gun. Lars dropped to the floor, hopefully unconscious.

"DADDY, NO!" roared Erin, running forward to help him.

"Erin, don't!" I hollered.

I don't know what possessed me to do it. I ran forward and tackled Erin to the ground just in time to take the agent's attack. I hit the ground and rolled backwards toward the front porch and whacked my head on the steps.

I must have blacked out, but in my unconsciousness, I found myself in a bed that I didn't recognize, even though in real life, I was probably still out cold on the ground. I heard a strange voice, it sounded powerful and gentle at the same time.

"Riley, you need to remember." it said.

"Is that really my name? That's what that redheaded girl told me it was," I said, "I just don't remember. How do you forget your own name?"

"You haven't forgotten, your memories were locked away by a demon named Astrid," said the voice, "You were defeated by her in your last battle. I know this because I'm reading your mind."

"How is that possible?" I asked.

"It's gift that my people are born with," said the voice, "We don't have mouths, so we communicate telepathically by implanting our thoughts into each other's minds."

"So does that mean you're not human?"

"No. I'm not," said the voice, "I'm from a different dimension like the Crusaders. I followed them here to try and stop them from destroying another innocent world."

"Is that why you're restoring my memories?"

"I don't have that kind of power. All I'm doing is reminding you of who you are and what you're supposed to do," said the voice, "When you wake up, it'll be up to you to break the lock on your memories."

"How exactly do I do that?"

"I can't tell you that," said the voice, "Just know that you're a hero and fighting monsters is what you were destined to do."

"Thanks, I guess," I said, "Can I at least know your name so I can return the favour someday?"

"All I want is to see the Crusaders defeated, and I believe that you can help me achieve my dream. That's why I helped you," said the voice, "My name... I suppose in your language, it would be Ezekiel."

"Will I ever get to meet you in person?" I asked.

"Maybe," said Ezekiel, "I'm in the process of building a device that will enable me to survive on Earth. The atmosphere is very different than that of my home world."

"Alright. I suppose I should wa-"

I sat bolt upright and rubbed the side of my face. Erin had slapped me hard.

"Finally," she gasped, "I was afraid you weren't going to wake up."

"That hurt!" I whined.

Erin shrugged at me and gave me a comforting smile. Suddenly I felt a warm sensation in my pocket. I pulled out some sort of shiny jewel that was glowing red.

"What is that?" asked Erin.

"I don't remember exactly," I said, "But I think I know what to do with it. I can't really explain it. It feels like somewhere, deep down, I've always known."

Instinctively I felt around in my other pocket and pulled out a fancy gadget with a plastic case on the top. I unscrewed the case and put the shiny rock inside. The jewel exploded with light and I heard another voice inside my head.

"Hello Riley," it said, "Good to have you back."

Everything came rushing back to me in a torrent of information.

"I remember now," I said, "My real name is Riley Bishop. And I'm the Red Power Ranger. Erin, stand back, let me handle that thing."

"Red Ranger! CYBER POWER!" I shouted, performing the morphing action.

"You again?" I asked the agent, confused, "Didn't we already destroy you?"

"Nice to see you got your memories back," came Ezekiel's voice, "That thing is a powered up version of the basic Crusader foot soldiers. They're considered agents, but they're expendable, unlike most of the other agents in the army."

"Thanks for the tip." I said and thought at the same time.

"You're welcome," said Ezekiel, "Best of luck in the fight. Unfortunately, I have to return to my own world for a while."

"Silver," I said, "Do me a favour and don't tell Rachel that I'm back. I want to surprise her later tonight."

"I don't think that'll be a problem," he sighed, "When she got home, she slammed the door, took off her Digitizer, unplugged the phone and turned off her cell phone, I got the impression that she wants to be left alone."

"Perfect," I said, "I'll go see her after I deal with this agent."

"Do you want back up?" asked Silver.

"No. I can handle this chump," I said, "Tell the others that the first agent we ever faced was just a powered up version of the Creepers. I'm about to fight a different one as we speak."

"Roger that." said Silver.

"Download weapon!" I called.

My katana materialized in my outstretched hand again.

"Fire." I said.

My katana burst into flames. The agent threw a flurry of rapid stretchy punches at me, but I dodged them all and sliced off one of his arms with my fiery blade.

"Even if you defeat me, the Crusaders will still destroy your pathetic world!" squealed the agent.

"No they won't." I said, "I won't let them."

"You can't stop them, you're just a disgusting human!"

"Shut up!" I snapped.

The agent tried to punch me again, but I sliced off his other arm too. He stood there, hung his head and looked at the ground.

"That's better." I said.

With a single swing of my burning katana, I sliced him clean in half. He melted down into that gross pile of goop.

"Power down." I said.

Erin ran over to me and hugged me. She was about to kiss me too, but stopped herself.

"I'm sorry, Erin, but I have to go," I said, "I hope you don't think I led you on."

"You didn't," she said, "Michael did. I understand that this is the real you."

"Thank you for everything." I said.

"Don't be a stranger," she said, "Come visit us anytime you want."

"I will. Take care now."

"Oh, and don't worry, your secret is safe with us, Riley."

I teleported back to the condo Silver gave Rachel and I money to buy. We didn't even ask, he just surprised us with it. I guess when you've got more money than you know what to do with, sharing it is a way that makes more than just you feel good.

Rachel was sitting in bed, staring at a picture of me and a crying silently. I would imagine she had been crying loudly, but by now she was probably too tired to make noise.

"Hello gorgeous." I said.

She looked up at me and her whole expression changed. She ran over to me for another big hug. You'd think I'd have come back from the dead or something.

"I'm so sorry about what I said." I wailed into her shoulder as she patted me on the back.

"It's okay, Riley, you weren't yourself." she said.

Rachel broke apart with her nose plugged.

"You smell like manure..." she moaned, "Go take a shower right now or you're sleeping on the couch tonight!"


	9. Hereafter

**This chapter introduces the idea of the two timelines. Timeline A is the one Yuna came from, where the Rangers are defeated by the Crusaders. Timeline B isn't referred to by name, but it's the timeline that Yuna arrives in and is where the story of Version 2 takes place.**

Headquarters, Sector 0  
Metro City, Canada  
August 14th, 2018  
2:06 PM

 **"Rachel Parker"**

We decided to take Yuna to see a movie. Big mistake. We should have started her off slowly before bringing her to an actual theatre full of people giving us strange looks. Some of the highlights of the excursion include:

Yuna running up to the screen in the middle of the movie to try and help the person she saw on the screen, not realizing that she can't because, you know, it's just a movie. She also didn't know to be quiet, so each time something happened in the movie, she would react accordingly, but loudly enough that she almost drowned out the movie.

When we brought her back to Headquarters, she was still mesmerized by what she saw. She kept asking thousands of questions during the drive home and was still going at it almost half an hour later.

"So all those people that died in the movie aren't really dead, right? I mean they wouldn't really kill them? I hope they wouldn't really kill them. That would be a horrible, but easy job. I don't even think you could call it a job, since they can't really pay you for doing it if you're dead." said Yuna, all in one breath,

"Sweetie, calm down," I said, putting my hand on her shoulder, "Relax, okay? It was just a movie, nobody really died. If you want to know how they made it look like they died, why don't you go read about it on the internet?"

"Okay." she said delightedly, bounding off to her room upstairs.

The others were all sitting in our usual lounge area. I walked over to them and sat down in between Riley and Chloe.

"Any trouble in the city?" asked Sawyer.

"No," said Silver, moving closer to us so we could hear him better, "There's been nothing since Commander Astrid came down to fight us herself."

"Maybe we already put the fear of Psion in her and she gave up?" suggested Oz.

"No way," said Riley, "I refuse to believe that it would be that easy. I think she's watching us again."

"But she could wipe the floor with us if she attacked right now," said Chloe, "So why doesn't she come back and fight us again?"

"Because she wants us to suffer," said Yuna, coming back down the stairs into the basement with a laptop under her arm. "She wants us to die slowly. Agonizingly slow. If she challenged us again, she already knows that she'd defeat us, which is boring for her because she doesn't like to fight if there won't be a challenge for her."

"So she's a kid with a magnifying glass and Earth is just an ant hill to her?" asked Sawyer.

"I don't understand that reference," said Yuna, "But you sound like you understand."

"How did you learn so much about Astrid and the Crusaders?" asked Riley, "I thought you said you were just a baby when they destroyed the Power Rangers?"

"I was," said Yuna, "But Earth isn't the first world they've destroyed. In 2041, the internet is a much more vast resource. I was able to study accounts from survivors of other dimensions the Crusaders attacked. I learned about Psion, his teachings and what the Crusaders are. It's hard to describe how it works compared to the 2018 version."

"Oh right, that reminds me," said Silver, "Yuna, I think the medallion is charged up. Mind you, I've never worked with technology like this before, so you should take a look for yourself."

Silver pulled the medallion out of his pocket and I saw that the middle of it was glowing brightly with the light following a sequence. First it would peak in brightness, then it would fade down to almost nothing before getting brighter again. Silver handed the medallion to Yuna.

"Well, at least the light is back on," she said, examining it, "It's definitely a start."

"But would it work now?" asked Silver.

"To answer that question, I would need to explain the back story of the medallions. When I first arrived, I only told you the bare bones version," said Yuna, "I suppose now is as good a time as any to go into more detail."

"Time travel technology is very complex, but these medallions are the lowest of the low in terms of functionality and design," she continued, "Quantex, the company that invented the medallions, marketed them as being single use, but that was a downright lie."

"As a businessman, I can't understand why this "Quantex" would do that." said Silver.

"I was getting to that, just wait," giggled Yuna, "Quantex claimed that the product was disposable and put a lot of time and effort feeding the lie. Back before the Crusaders wiped out over 95% of life on Earth, these medallions were always sold in pairs."

"Like shoes?" asked Oz.

"Yes, actually," said Yuna, "That's a good comparison. There's a bunch of different models of medallions too. Depending on what you want to use it them for will determine which model you buy. But Quantex chose to never sell two different models in the same package."

"Can you dumb that down for us please?" asked Chloe.

"Say for example you want use the medallion to take a vacation to Ancient Egypt. You would buy a package of 'Reverse Flow' medallions to travel backwards through time," explained Yuna, "But if you only have two 'Reverse Flow' medallions, how do you get back to the present after your vacation is over?"

Nobody spoke. We were clinging on every word.

"The short answer is that you don't... Unless you also knew to buy a package of 'Forward Flow' medallions at the same time." said Yuna.

"Now I get it," said Silver, "Quantex wouldn't be held responsible for their consumers being trapped in different time periods because they always sell the medallions in pairs."

"And by doing it that way, Quantex essentially earns twice as much money for every package sold." said Riley.

"Exactly," said Yuna, "But then, in 2031, a technological genius discovered that even though Quantex claimed the medallions were disposable, you could actually recharge them with a little bit of tampering."

"I think I see where this is going." I said.

"This genius also discovered that each model of the medallion can be reprogrammed to function like any of the other available models," said Yuna, "It all depends what energy source you use to charge the medallion."

"Huh?" asked Oz.

"Basically, if you use electricity to recharge the medallion, it will function as a 'Reverse Flow' model. If you use microwaves to recharge the medallion, it will function as an 'Instant Replay' model." said Yuna.

"You're right, that explanation does help me understand," said Silver, "The gist of her story is that in 2018, electricity is the only thing we can really use to recharge the medallion, so she can't use it to return to 2041 because electricity reprograms it to travel back in time."

"I can see why they call you a technological genius, Silver," said Yuna, "It took me months of research to understand any of this, and even longer before I could explain it to other people."

"So if we were to travel forward in time and we met up with our future selves, what would happen?" I asked.

"Nobody really knows why, but it's almost like time itself has built in fail safes to help keep things in balance," said Yuna, "If you were to travel forward in time, your future self would have no idea you exist, even if you were standing right in front them. But you could still hear and see them."

"Shouldn't it be the other way around?" asked Sawyer.

"Well the future isn't set in stone, but the past is," said Yuna, "Which means that if you were to see your future self and not like them, you would have a chance of rewriting history by making different choices."

"Right, but if your future self were to see your past self, it could theoretically tell you exactly what to do to change the future," said Sawyer, "Which is considered cheating compared to having it the other way around."

"Yuna, can I see the medallion?" I asked.

"Sure, just be careful with it." she said, handing it to me.

As soon as the medallion landed in my hand, I felt a strange sensation in my stomach. It felt like someone grabbed my stomach and was pulling me through a very small tube.

Bishop Residence, Sector 18  
Metro City, Canada  
October 5th, 2019 (Timeline: A)  
6:50 AM

 **"Future Rachel"**

I sat bolt upright in bed and scampered over to the bathroom. I pulled the seat up, got down on my knees just in time. I huge stream of sick erupted from my mouth and right into the bowl.

"Honey? Are you okay?" yawned Riley.

I couldn't answer him. My mouth was unavailable. I felt horrid. Either I got food poisoning, or... Well, I mean, that would explain why I hadn't got my period yet.

I didn't hear him, but Riley came up behind me and held my hair for me with one hand and patted my back with the other hand.

"Did last night's supper not agree with you?" he asked.

I threw up again, but there wasn't much left that time. I stayed down in the toilet bowl for a while, waiting to see if there would be another wave, but nothing came. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"I think I'm pregnant." I said, flushing the toilet and getting to my feet cautiously.

Riley stayed frozen in place.

"Try that again." he said.

"I think I'm pregnant." I repeated, chuckling at his reaction.

"That, or we had some bad Thai food last night." he said.

"Oh come on, you're not throwing up."

"Not yet," said Riley, "It might still happen."

"Would it really be so bad if I am pregnant?" I asked, "I think we're ready."

"So do I," he said, "But with the Crusaders' hovercraft looming over head, I don't think that now is necessarily the best time to bring a baby into the world."

"Well, I'm not getting rid of it," I said, "Besides, we're getting ahead of ourselves, we don't know for sure yet that I'm pregnant."

"Need me to run to the store?" asked Riley.

"A couple of pregnancy tests and a bottle of medicine to soothe my stomach please." I said.

"Why a couple of tests?" he asked.

"Sometimes you get a false positive," I said, "Better to get two or three just to make extra sure."

"Okay, I'll be right back." said Riley.

He teleported, but I would imagine he only teleported to the car outside. I waited for a while to see if I was going to throw up again, but so far nothing. I still felt really nauseous though.

I figured I had at least 20 minutes, so I stripped down and took a quick shower. By the time I stepped out, Riley was waiting for me on the bed with a bag from the drugstore, so I brushed my teeth before coming over to him.

"You got them? Thanks babe!" I said, kissing him on the lips while grabbing the bag.

I took the bag into the bathroom and closed the door a bit while I went about the testing process.

"Do you need any help?" came Riley's voice.

"No thanks," I said, "I know how to pee on a stick. I'd love a cup of coffee though."

"You got it." he said.

I had more than enough urine for all three tests. It's all about clenching the muscles to stop the flow while you get the next test ready. When I was finally all out, I flushed the toilet again and washed my hands. It wasn't until I after they were clean that I remembered that I'd be touching sticks covered in my own brand of apple juice.

Riley came back from the kitchen with a big mug of coffee for me. He might not drink it himself, but nevertheless he knew how to brew a really good batch. I tried to get him into it, but he just didn't like it.

"How do you drink that? It's so bitter!?" he'd say while rubbing his tongue with a paper towel.

I came over to sit on the foot of the bed with him. The pregnancy tests were sitting on the sink, I'm not sure if it takes a while for them to show the results, but I was giving them some time.

"How do you it?" asked Riley.

"Do what?" I asked.

"You know, pee on them?" he asked, "I mean, guys have something to hold on to and aim with, but girls don't. Do they?"

"You don't have to aim, you just hold it in the stream." I said, chuckling.

"Could you even be pregnant? We haven't, well you know, done it in a while. We've both been so busy." said Riley.

"Don't you remember on our honeymoon?" I asked, "We made love on the floor in front the fireplace, and out on the balcony, and then on the bed later. Each time without any protection."

"But that was a while ago." he said.

"It doesn't happen overnight," I said, "I kind of thought I might be pregnant when I missed my last period, but the morning sickness was a big slap in the face."

"Unless the tests are negative, in which case it was the Thai food." said Riley.

"Ready to go see what they say?" I asked.

"You haven't looked yet?" he asked.

"Nope," I said, "If I'm pregnant, you're the father. I thought we should do it together."

"Alright, let's go." he said.

We approached the sink while holding hands. As I got closer, I could see that all the tests were showing the same readout. When I got even closer, I could see that all three tests had a pink "+" on them.

"What does the "+" mean?" asked Riley.

"I'm pregnant," I said, hugging him tightly, "We're going to be a family!"

Later that day, we invited everyone over for supper. Riley wanted to cook something for everyone in celebration. Nobody knew why we had invited them over. We wanted to make the announcement a surprise.

The surprise was almost ruined when I had to run to the bathroom while everyone was talking in the living room. I guess the stomach medicine wore off, but I don't think anyone noticed me running away.

"Honey, can you go check the potatoes?" called Riley as I crept back into the living from the bathroom.

"Sure babe!" I called back.

I went into the kitchen and opened the oven. The scalloped potatoes were doing fine and looked exquisite. I wonder if I'll end up getting any weird cravings like my Mom did when she was pregnant with me?

My Mom used to tell me how during the first two trimesters, she had cravings for foods that when mixed together are pretty gross, like eggs with maple syrup on them. I know lots of other people enjoy that in general, but she didn't, until she was pregnant with me.

Chloe came into the kitchen to talk to me when she saw me go into the kitchen.

"Rachel, are you pregnant?" she whispered in my ear, "I saw you run into the bathroom out of the corner of my eye."

"I took three tests this morning," I whispered back, "All three were positive."

Chloe jumped for joy and looked she was about to get all squeaky and high pitched, but then she stopped herself and just hugged me really tightly instead.

"I won't spoil the surprise," she said, "That is why you invited us all here, right?"

"Yup." I said, with a grin.

After supper, everyone gathered around in the living room.

"I imagine you're all ready to know what the occasion is," said Riley, "Rachel and I have some pretty big news."

"I'm pregnant!" I announced excitedly.

There was the usual explosion of cheering. Everyone came over for more big hugs one after another, even Silver and Jenna.

"Just promise me you won't name it after me or my Dad." said Oz.

"The thought never even occurred to me." I said.

"Yeah, we don't even know if the baby is a boy or a girl yet." said Riley.

H.E.A.L.T.H Maternity Ward, Sector 17  
Metro City, Canada  
June 1st, 2020 (Timeline: A)  
4:25 PM

 **"Future Riley"**

After a bit of a scare in the delivery process, the baby was finally born. 7 minutes later, I was outside the hallway of Rachel's room using the payphone.

"Silver, tell the others that the baby was born today. She came a few weeks early," I said, "It's a beautiful baby girl; she weighs 6 pounds even. Rachel cut the cord herself."

"I always planned on asking Marcus, but obviously I can't anymore," I continued, "Silver, would you like to be her Godfather?"

"Great, I figured you'd say something like that," I said after hearing his response, "I'll call again later once Rachel gets some rest so you can bring the others to come meet the baby. I should go check on Rachel and see how she's doing."

I went back into the hospital room and saw Rachel holding the baby close to her chest.

"I called Silver and told him the good news," I said, "He's gonna bring the others to meet the baby later on, when you feel ready for visitors."

"She was hungry, I already got her to eat," she said, "Did you ask him if he'd be her Godfather?"

"He actually cried when I asked him. But he said yes." I said.

"Listen, I know you wanted to name our kids after your parents, but how about we compromise?" she asked, cradling the beautiful baby girl, "I get to name her and you get to name the next one?"

"Whatever you want, babe," I said, "I love you so much."

"I love you too." said Rachel, looking down at the baby, who was fast asleep in her mother's arms.

"Can you believe we made this little creature?" she continued, stroking the baby's forehead gently, "It's the most amazing thing we've done."

"Even better than saving the world?" I asked.

"Okay, maybe not the best. But definitely the second best." she said, chuckling.

"So what were you thinking of for her name?" I asked.

"Do you remember Final Fantasy X?" she asked, "That was the very first game I ever watched you play. It came out around the same time that my Mom died. I spent so much time over at your place for those first few months."

"Of course I remember," I said, "You were using me and the game as a coping mechanism to help get over your grief for your mother."

"My favourite character in that game was Yuna, the Summoner," said Rachel, "She could command all those Aeons, and she was so beautiful. Remember how her eyes were two different colours?"

"Yeah. And so are this little ones." I said, tickling the baby's chin.

"I want to name her Yuna," said Rachel, "And for the middle name, we'll use my Mom's name."

"I really like it, she's beautiful," I said, wiping a tear from my eye, "Welcome to the world, Yuna Lauren Bishop."

Bishop Residence, Sector 18  
Metro City, Canada  
May 28th, 2021 (Timeline: A)  
7:13 PM

 **"Future Rachel"**

Baby Yuna had started to cry. I ran over to her crib and peered in at her.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

She couldn't answer me, obviously. She couldn't talk yet.

"Mama!" shrieked Yuna.

"OH MY GOD!" I shrieked back delightedly, "HONEY, GET IN HERE! YUNA JUST TALKED!"

"Damn, I missed it," said Riley, "What did she say?"

"Mama." I said, wiping a tear from the corner of my eye.

Riley picked up Yuna and held her close to him.

"Seriously kid?" he chuckled, pinching her nose gently, "After everything I've done for you and you say HER name first?"

"Mama!" cooed Yuna.

"Alright, that's it," said Riley sarcastically, giving her back to me, "We're not friends anymore. If you want your Mom so bad, here."

"Be careful honey," I said, "I don't know if she understands sarcasm yet."

"Who says I'm being sarcastic?" he chuckled.

Just then our Digitizers beeped.

"Riley? Rachel?" came Silver's voice, "Is this a bad time? The Crusaders have launched a full scale assault on the city! This might be our final stand."

"We'll be right there, Silver," said Riley, "We just need to find someone to babysit Yuna for us."

"What about the Murphy's next door on the top condo?" I asked, "They seem nice."

"Okay," said Riley, "I'll go ask them. You stay down here and make sure she has everything she's needs. And hey, just in case, say goodbye to her."

"What about you?" I asked.

"I'll say it when I get back." he said.

I looked down at Baby Yuna again.

"Sweetie," I said, trying my best to hold back my tears, "I just want you to know that no matter what happens tonight, that we love you more than anything in the entire world. I hope I'll be there to see the woman you're going to grow into, because she's going to be so beautiful."

I tucked her into the crib and leaned in to give her a big kiss just as Riley came back into the room.

"The Murphy's will be right over," he said, "How's she doing?"

"I think she's scared," I said, "I think she knows what's happening."

Riley leaned in and put his face very close to Yuna's.

"Even if this ends up being the last time we see each other," he said, "We'll always be watching you and looking after you. If you ever get lonely, just think about us, and we'll be right there. I love you so much little girl, and nothing can ever take that away from you. Be brave, okay?"

He kissed Yuna on the forehead and then came to stand by me.

"Ready?" he asked.

"How do you prepare yourself for a fight you probably won't survive?" I asked.

"I don't know." he said, holding out his hand.

I took it and together we teleported together up through the ceiling of the condo and soared through the sky. We arrived in Headquarters seconds later.

"Thanks for coming you two," said Jenna, "I know it can't have been easy leaving Yuna behind."

"I'm fighting to secure a better future for my daughter," said Riley, "And if I die, so be it."

"The Crusaders want us all dead," I said, "But they're not getting my child! I'll die to protect her and the whole world."

"There's no time to waste," said Riley to the room at large, "Everyone ready?"

"Yup." said Sawyer.

"As I'll ever be." said Chloe.

"This'll be fun." said Oz, cracking his knuckles.

"Alright then," said Riley, "Let's ranger up!"

"Purple Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Sawyer.

"Orange Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Chloe.

"Yellow Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Oz.

"Blue Ranger! CYBER POWER!" I shouted.

"Red Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Riley.

Once we all had our colour coded costumes on, Silver spoke up.

"Rangers," he said, "This very well could be your you last battle. I hope you all know how proud am I of the people you've become."

"Enough of that mushy stuff, Silver," said Jenna, "I've come up with a program that will allow you to use to transfer your own power into the Megazord to help it pack more of a punch. I recommend activating your Burst Modes and transferring those powers."

"Let's go save the world." said Red.

"Or die trying." I said.

We teleported together and flew up through the ceiling of Headquarters. Five streaks of coloured binary rocketed across the evening sky and touched down right smack dab in the middle of downtown.

Astrid was waiting for us. She had a twisted smile on her face as she walked towards us.

"Power Rangers! This is the end for you," she said, "I've come up with a foolproof plan!"

"We'll see about that." said Red.

"Our warlocks have developed a powerful spell that will annihilate this pathetic dimension once and for all!" cackled Astrid, "And the best part is that every single one of the soldiers in my army know how to use it!"

"Have they always had warlocks?" asked Yellow, "Because that's pretty cool."

"What are you rambling on about?" I jeered.

"The spell will unleash a massive amount of nuclear radiation any time you destroy one of my beloved soldiers," said Astrid, "Our victory is unavoidable this time. Even if you fight back, you'll only be helping us to further our goal!"

"Well if we can't destroy your army, then we'll just destroy you!" said Red confidently.

"By all means try, it won't do you any good," squealed Astrid maniacally, "My warriors are willing to die for our cause. If I tell them to, they'll sacrifice themselves one after another."

"This bitch is working my last nerve," said Red, "Everybody, let's go Burst Mode!"

"EXECUTE BURST MODE!" we shouted together.

Each of our codecs exploded in glorious flash of blinding coloured light. When the light subsided, each of us had activated the mighty Burst Mode.

"Not bad," said Astrid, "Now it's my turn."

She snapped her fingers and thousands of Creepers rained down from the hovercraft above and splattered on the ground around her. Astrid held out her arms and all the pale blue puddles merged together into streams of goop that were now enveloping Astrid. After a minute, she started to grow larger and larger.

"Silver," said Red, "We need the Zords!"

"They're en route as we speak," said Silver, "Wait... I'm picking up enemy readings in Sectors 1 through 5."

"Dear God..." moaned Jenna, "This is hopeless, there's even more of them. I'm seeing hostile activity in every single sector of the city..."

"We're not giving up!" shouted Red.

"Download Data Zord!" called Purple, "Mark 1!"

"Download Data Zord!" called Orange, "Mark 2!"

"Download Data Zord!" called Yellow, "Mark 3!"

"Download Data Zord!" I called, "Mark 5!"

"Download Data Zord!" called Red, "Mark 6!"

The Mark Zords materialized around us one by one. The purple one resembled a futuristic stealth plane, the orange one resembled a sports car, the yellow one resembled an excavator, mine resembled an ambulance and the red one resembled an enormous semi truck.

"Commence V2 Megazord transformation sequence!" announced Red.

We all hopped into the cockpits of our respective Zords. As the Zords began to assemble themselves, it felt like I was lifted up above the action to observe the transformation, even though I hadn't really moved anywhere.

Yellow's excavator became the right arm, with the digging arm being the Megazord's actual arm. Orange's racer became the Megazord's head. My ambulance became the torso. Red's semi became the legs. Finally, Purple's stealth plane became the left arm.

Now that the transformation was complete, it was like I had been dreaming everything I had just seen. I opened my eyes and found that I was still sitting at my station in the Megazord's cockpit.

"Cyberspace Megazord V2, online!" we announced in unison.

"Rangers, hold your codecs up to your respective console to transfer some of the power from Burst Mode into the Megazord." said Jenna.

We did as she instructed and we could feel ourselves get weaker, but the information screen on each of our consoles showed that the Megazord's individual components were all becoming significantly stronger.

After a while, we reverted back to regular ranger form once all our Burst Mode power had been siphoned into the Megazord.

Astrid had just now stopped growing. She still looked like herself, except now she was a few feet taller than the Megazord.

"I will squash you like bugs!" she roared, extending her claws into lethal blades.

We summoned our own weapon, which was a long handle with two swords on either end. Astrid swiped at us, but we blocked it with our weapon, or at least we thought we did.

Astrid's arm turned into a gooey, pale blue wad of goop that dripped down and encased the sword. We tried to break free, but it didn't work. The blue goop seeped into the inner workings of the Megazord and from the piles, copies of Astrid appeared.

"By combining myself with the limitless ooze," she snarled, "I can clone myself and appear in several places at once."

"Guys, she's breached the Megazord!" I said, "What do we do?"

"Nothing can stop me now." said Astrid.

The Megazord started to tremble and get really hot. Then, suddenly in a colossal blast, the Megazord exploded, sending all the Mark Zords flying away. Each piece disintegrated shortly afterwards.

We all fell several hundred stories and crashed down on the ground. Our suits helped us the survive the fall, but the last of our energy was used up. All five of us were sprawled on the ground, writhing in agony.

The giant Astrid shrunk back down to her original size and walked over to us.

"Just think," she said, "If you had just surrendered when we first arrived in this dimension, none of this would've happened. This pain you're feeling is your fault."

"Fuck you, Astrid!" spat Oz.

In one swift motion, Astrid extended her claws and skewered Oz in the chest several times. He gasped and then his eyes glazed over. He was dead.

"OZ! NO!" roared Sawyer, getting gingerly to his feet and running towards Astrid.

She sliced his head clean off and kicked it away. Sawyer's body stayed upright momentarily before it crumpled to the ground.

"No..." sobbed Chloe, "Sawyer..."

Astrid turned to look at her. Lasers shot from her eyes that fired right through Chloe's head. She fell backwards as Astrid walked over Riley and I.

"Just kill me and get it over with," he said, winking at me, "But please, spare Rachel and my daughter Yuna, they won't cause you any more trouble."

Astrid looked unphased and got closer to Riley. I was too numb to care anymore. At least this way, I won't have to live without him. But will Astrid really spare Yuna?

"Hey babe," said Riley, looking at me, "I love you so much... I'll see you on the other side."

Astrid grabbed his neck and snapped it like a twig. I stayed on the ground, too tired and sore to move. There was nothing I could do anyway. She was too powerful. She was advancing on me now, getting closer and closer until she grabbed my arm.

 **(PRESENT DAY)**

"RACHEL!" I felt someone slap me in the face.

"What!?" I asked, sounding confused.

It seems like I was back in my proper time. What exactly happened to me? It was like I was the sole member of an audience, watching my own future. I could see and hear everything, but I don't think I was really there.

"You've been unconscious for hours," said Yuna, "The medallion short circuited in your hand and electrocuted you."

"Are you sure?" I asked, "Because I just saw the future. I saw it clear as like how I'm seeing you guys right now."

"There can be all kinds of weird side effects when a time travel device malfunctions," said Yuna, "But you say you saw glimpses of the future?"

"Yeah." I said, sitting up.

"I guess I got it mixed up," said Yuna, "It seems like electricity makes you travel forward in time, not backwards. You're just lucky you didn't actually go anywhere, otherwise you'd be in the future that I came from."

"I don't think I went that far," I said, looking at Riley, "We were married, the Crusaders were here... And I was pregnant."

My gaze fell to Yuna as I spoke the last words. Somehow I always sort of knew that she was special to me. I could instinctively tell that something about Yuna felt very familiar to me.

Even from the first time I met her, I felt a strange connection to her that I couldn't explain. Well, at least now I know why. But should I tell anyone? What if me telling other people changes the future? Yuna might cease to exist entirely.

"Did you see anything that might help us?" asked Silver.

"Yes, as a matter of fact," I said, "I know how we lost."

"What are you talking about?" asked Sawyer.

"I saw the battle where Astrid and the Crusaders defeated us," I said, "I know how we lost against them!"

"Are you serious?" asked Chloe.

"I would never kid about something like this." I said, "It was awful, Astrid killed each and every one of us. You were first Oz, then you Sawyer. After him, Chloe, and then Riley. I was the last."

"How did we lose?" asked Silver.

"Does this mean you know how to defeat the Crusaders?" asked Jenna.

"No, nothing like that," I said, "But I do know that the Crusaders have a team of warlocks. Astrid said something about how they developed a spell that would allow any member of the Crusader army to explode like an atomic bomb."

"That's unspeakable," said Silver, "With that kind of power, it wouldn't matter whether or not we defeat them in battle, They would be equally dangerous dead or alive."

"Yuna, do you know anything about these warlocks?" I asked.

"No," she said, "But that doesn't mean anything. There's lots of different elements of the Crusader army that aren't public knowledge."

"I think I know what our next move is," I said, "We need to try and destroy these warlocks. I'll bet you anything that they won't be easy to replace. And without them, the Crusaders won't be able to create that spell."

"It sounds good in theory," said Yuna, "But executing the plan won't be so easy. In order to do it, we'd need to get someone on their hovercraft. It'd be a suicide mission."

"Not if we plan it right," I said, "After what I just experienced, I've got all the motivation I'll ever need."


	10. Bewitched

Oz's Bachelor Pad, Sector 4  
Metro City, Canada  
August 17th, 2018  
1:10 PM

 **"Heath "Oz" Ostreicher"**

My favourite guilty pleasure TV show, "Desires" was on. If anyone were to ever find out that I watch it, they would never let me live it down.

Suddenly there was a knock at my door. I hurriedly tried to change the channel, but the remote slipped from my hands. I fumbled with it desperately just as the door opened. It must be someone I know who has a key.

"If he's not answering the door, he's probably sleeping," said Rachel as she entered, "Do you want to wake him up this time or should I do it?"

"Wait a minute, he's right here in the living room," said Riley, "Dude? Why didn't you answer? We told you we'd be coming by to pick you up today, we have to start setting up for Silver's surprise party."

"I was... umm... Watching TV." I said, innocently.

I was caught in the act. Desires was being showcased to the entire room. I wasn't able to change the channel in time.

"Oh my god! Is that Desires!?" squealed Rachel, jumping over the back of the couch to sit next to me.

"Is this the one where Richard and Grace's plane crashes on a deserted island while on their way to their honeymoon, and then they meet Ricardo, Richard's long lost half-brother on the island and then he tricks them into finding the cursed Emerald?" she asked, all in one long sentence.

"No, I don't think I've gotten that far yet," I said, "Richard and Grace aren't married yet. Wait, I thought Richard's only sibling was Reagan, and she died in that horrible Zamboni accident?"

"Well, yeah, but that's why Ricardo is only his half-brother," she said, "They have different mothers."

"Excuse me, but um, is this really the best time for this?" asked Riley.

"No... I guess not," I said, hitting the record button before turning off the TV.

"You're lucky you can still record stuff like that," said Rachel, "Ours broke and no matter how many times I call the guy, he never fixes it. I even had to dig out an old VCR to tape new episodes."

"Rachel, the cable box isn't broken, you just don't know how record properly," said Riley, "Now can we please get going?"

"I can't believe that Silver is turning 40," I said, "He's been such a huge part of our lives since we met him that it's weird to see him as a person that gets older. Pretty soon he'll start saying stuff like 'When I was your age' just like my grandpa."

"Jenna insisted that we make it a surprise party, since Silver will probably just want to brush it under the rug like all his other birthdays," said Rachel, "But 40 is an important age, even if you don't want to celebrate it."

"Maybe I'll hire a stripper." I thought out loud.

"Oz, it's a birthday party, not a bachelor party." said Rachel.

"I'm sorry, I'm not following you." I said.

"It's like talking to a brick wall," she sighed, "Bottom line. No strippers!"

"What about go-go dancers?" I asked.

"Isn't that the same thing?" asked Rachel.

"Not quite, go-go dancers don't take their clothes off." I said.

"Come on, talk on the way to the party store." said Riley, beckoning us to the door.

My bachelor pad was in the westernmost block of Sector 4. The street past the parking lot was already part of Sector 5. There's no division or even signs indicating where one sector ends and another starts. If you grew up in Metro City like most of us did, you learn stuff like that pretty fast.

The party store was located in a strip mall in the easternmost part of Sector 5, so we could literally just walk there. No need to teleport and save time. This isn't the only one in the city, but it is the closest one.

"So how are you going to break the news to Chloe that she can't come to Silver's party?" I asked, once we were in the party store's parking lot.

"What are you talking about?" asked Rachel.

"Well you said no strippers," I said, "And we all know what Chloe's day job is."

"That's not what I meant and you know it." groaned Rachel, shoving me playfully.

"It's not fair if only you get to break rules." I chuckled.

"Alright, how about this then?" asked Rachel, "Chloe is allowed to come to the party, but Amber, her stripper alter ego is not allowed. Along with any other strippers!"

"Fine," I said, "But I still think that sounds like an exception. You'll be hearing from my attorney... Just as soon as I get an attorney."

We had reached the door now. Riley pulled it open and held it for Rachel and I.

"Oz why don't you go ask someone about renting a truck to transport all the decorations to Silver's?" called Riley, "Rachel and I will start gathering up what we need."

"Sure thing." I said.

I proceeded to scour the various aisles looking for a staff member. I finally saw a girl that looked like she was wearing the red a pink apron. I wasn't sure though, since she was facing the wrong way.

She was up on a ladder, restacking the shelves. I couldn't help but notice that she had a great ass. I took a minute to admire the view and think of my approach. I walked over to her and made my footsteps as loud as I could so that she would hear me. She turned around to look at me with a curious smile.

"Is your name Google? Because you have everything I'm looking for." I said.

"Seriously? A pick up line?" she asked, looking me up and down, "You don't need those."

"Really?" I asked, smiling, "Why not?"

"Well you've got washboard abs, for one thing," she said, "My name's Penny, by the way."

"And I'm Heath, but people who don't want to get punched call me Oz instead." I said, holding my hand out for her to shake.

"You wouldn't punch me, would you?" asked Penny.

"Not at first," I teased, "It's only once you've known me for a while that I expect you to remember."

"What makes you think I'm interested in getting to know you?" asked Penny, hopping down off the ladder.

I lifted up the corner of my shirt.

"My washboard abs?" I asked with a coy smile, "My winning personality?"

"Okay, you've got me there," she said, "Do you think I could maybe touch them?"

"Not here, but how about I take you out for dinner tonight?" I asked, "If all goes well, then you can touch them later."

"I'd like that." said Penny.

"So if I'm picking you up, where are you staying?" I asked.

"Actually I'm new in town," said Penny, "I'm staying at the Burnham Hotel in Sector 0."

"That's a pretty fancy place," I said, "How do you afford the rent by working here?"

"It's a long boring tale," she said, "I'll save it for dinner tonight."

"Looking forward to it," I said, "Now, onto new business, my friends are I were hoping to rent a truck to transport the decorations to the party."

"Alright, follow me to the desk and I'll give you a rental form."

I restrained myself from commenting about how I'll enjoy the view as she walks away. It was unnecessary. Unless she was planning on blowing me off, I already had her on the line and tonight I would reel her in.

"Hey Oz." said Yuna.

I whipped around. Where did she come from? Did she teleport here while I wasn't looking?

"Yuna? Where did you?" I began.

"Here Oz," said Penny, coming over from the desk, "Here's your rental form... Um, who's this?"

"I'm Yuna, we're just friends." said Yuna.

Yuna had her hand on my shoulder. She meant nothing by it, but it probably didn't look very good to Penny. I absentmindedly brushed her hand off and grinned innocently.

"I've never even met here before." I said loudly.

"Oz, what are you talking about?" asked Yuna, "We see each other all the time, we work together."

"She knows to call you Oz." said Penny, putting her hands on her hips.

"Relax, Penny, I don't have a girlfriend," I said, calmly, "Yuna is a friend from work, that's all. I'll pick you up at 6:00 tonight?"

"Yeah, okay." said Penny, eyeing Yuna suspiciously.

Penny turned and went back to work.

"What was that all about?" asked Yuna, "Did I do something wrong?"

"Not intentionally no," I said, "I guess from her end it looked like you were all over me. How'd you get here?"

"I teleported," she said, "Wanted to see if you guys needed any help."

"Well, I don't, but maybe Rachel and Riley do." I said, pointing towards their location in the store.

"Be careful around that girl, Oz," said Yuna, "Something seems off about her."

"You mean the fact that she's smoking hot?"

"Yeah, I suppose she is, but there's something else." said Yuna.

"Like what?" I asked.

"I'm not sure," said Yuna, "Just be careful, okay?"

"Alright... Thanks for the warning I guess."

That evening, I pulled up in front of the Burnham and a valet came over to the window of my truck.

"Shall I park it for you, sir?" he asked.

"No thanks, I'm just picking someone up." I said.

I saw Penny push the front door of the lobby open and step out. She was wearing a pink sweater dress with a scoop neckline that showed some cleavage, and nice shoes. Her makeup was also different now, more sophisticated and less casual. She looked gorgeous.

"Hey!" she said, waving to me as she walked over.

I pushed the door open and she hoisted herself up into the seat. My truck was a little on the big side, but that's the way I like it. For someone like me, it isn't that big, but for a petite thing like her, it's huge.

"So where are we going?" asked Penny, fastening her seat belt.

"Sapori Unici," I said, "It's an Italian restaurant in Sector 12. My friends Riley and Rachel went there a few years ago and said the food was great. I've been meaning to go myself, but going to dinner alone is kind of awkward."

"Sounds good," said Penny, "Did you make us a reservation?"

"Reservation schmeservation," I said, "Relax babe, I have my own techniques for getting us in there."

Or at least that's what I told her. In reality, I completely forgot to call ahead. I was so preoccupied with decorating for Silver's party that it completely slipped my mind. My only hope was that the maître d would be chill and let me slip him a $50 or something in exchange for a nice table.

"Interesting." said Penny.

I was still concentrating on the road, but out of the corner of my eye, I could've sworn I saw Penny turn away towards the passenger window to adjust her bra from outside the dress. Probably to make her cleavage more noticeable than it already was. It seems like she's really into me.

When we arrived at the restaurant, I walked around to Penny's door and opened it for her, partly to be polite and also because I noticed how she had a bit of trouble climbing up and in to her seat when I picked her up.

We headed inside and a bead of sweat formed on my forehead. The place was PACKED! It was so busy that you couldn't even tell how many people were clamoring to get the maître d's attention.

"Don't panic," I said to Penny out of the corner of my mouth, "I promised you that I'd get us in here and I will."

"If it's too busy I don't mind going somewhere else." she said.

"Yeah, but most of the other places will probably like this too." I said.

I joined the mob and started fighting my way through it using my elbows. A couple of people tried to hit back, but I would overpower them and shove them away. Eventually I reached the table.

"Excuse me sir, my date and I would like a table." I said, with a smile.

"Yeah, you and everybody else," he said, "You'll just have to wait your turn. But between you and me, I would probably just go to a different restaurant."

"Are you sure that we can't come to some sort of understanding?" I asked, pulling a $20 out of my pocket and casually sliding it closer to him on the counter.

He gave me an unimpressed look.

"Sorry, my bad..." I said, "I meant to grab one of these."

I threw down a $50 on top of the $20.

"Sir, keep your money," said the maître d, "Even if I did accept bribes, there's still no tables available."

"Alright, I understand," I sighed, "Thanks anyway."

Penny had made her way through the crowd. Not sure how she pulled that off. Unless it was because nobody wanted to push or punch a pretty girl.

"No luck?" she asked.

"Nope. He says there isn't even any tables."

Penny walked up to the maître d and stared at him momentarily. Then she batted her eyelashes.

"You know what?" he asked, "I think the couple at Table 10 has been here too long. I'll have them leave and give you two that table."

"Why? Aren't we last in line?" I asked.

"Technically yes," he said, "But you two are the only ones that are behaving civilly."

"If you say so," I said, "Thanks a lot."

"No problem," he said, winking at Penny, "But let's just keep this between us."

"Absolutely." I said.

After we were sitting down at the table, I looked curiously at Penny.

"What was that?" I asked.

"What was what?"

"Back there," I said, "It looked like you worked some sort of mojo on the maître d."

"What can I say?" asked Penny, "I guess some men are just powerless to the charms of a beautiful woman."

"Yeah," I said, "I suppose it doesn't really matter."

"Oz," said Penny, "Can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"I really want to have sex with you tonight," she said, "I hope you don't think that makes me a slut. I don't normally do that, but I really like you."

"I get it," I said, "It doesn't seem fair how if a guy sleeps with a girl he just met, he's a conqueror, but if a girl does the same thing, she's a whore."

"So do you want to just blow this place and get a room?" I said, after a pause.

"No," she said, "I'm hungry. Besides, that maître d risked his job to get us in here. Let's enjoy a nice meal first."

"Whatever you want babe." I said.

After dinner, Penny and I tried to decide where we to return. My place or hers. In the end, we settled on her place. I don't really remember what happened after that. It's the strangest thing. The next thing I remember is waking up in a nice bed with Penny's arms wrapped tightly around my chest. I lifted up the covers a bit and smirked when I noticed we were both completely naked.

That's when I noticed it… On both arms that were holding me tight, her skin seemed to have rubbed away, almost as if what I thought was skin was really makeup that was disguising what her body really looked like.

Curiously, I licked the tip of my finger and rubbed a different spot on her arm. To my horror, it came off too!

I heard a growling sound as Penny's eyes opened. Instead of what I remember seeing yesterday, now they looked menacing and snake like.

"Good morning, Oz." said Penny.

"Are you feeling okay?" I asked.

"Happy and satisfied," said Penny, tracing little hearts on my chest with her finger, "Was it good for you too?"

"Don't take this the wrong way," I said, "But I don't remember."

"That's my bad," said Penny, "I'm still learning you see."

I broke free from her embrace and stood up.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"I work for the Crusaders," she said, "To be more specific, I'm a disciple of Lust."

"The Sin Lieutenant?"

Penny beckoned with her finger and I was pulled forward back onto the bed.

"It's no use fighting, Oz, you're my thrall now," whispered Penny in my ear, "Lady Lust can control thousands of men with just a stare, but me, I'm still learning and my powers haven't fully developed, so I have to sleep with men in order to make them my obedient slaves."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" I asked.

"Because it doesn't matter," she said, "You won't be able to do anything about it."

"Wanna bet?" I snarled, cracking my knuckles, "Little do you know, I'm the Yellow Power Ranger!"

"Actually, I do know that," said Penny, "Why do you think I suggested we come back here instead of your place? You're alone and cut off from your friends."

I rolled on top of Penny and made a fist. I had it raised high above her head and brought it down with as much power as I could muster.

"You don't want to punch me." she said simply.

Miraculously, I stopped inches away from her face and opened my fist. It was like she had attached invisible strings to all my limbs that she can control with her mind.

"Now let's seal the deal with a kiss."

"Screw you!" I snapped.

"You already did. That's what got you into this situation in the first place," said Penny, "And here I thought it was only the males on my home world that think with their sex organs."

"Fine. Now that I'm your thrall, what are you going to do to me?" I asked.

"You and I are going to rob a bank." she said.

"Really? Don't you think that's a little petty for the Crusaders?"

"You seemed smarter last night," said Penny, "How is it going to look if one of the Power Rangers is seen working with a demon from the Crusader army? Tensions are already high because of our hovercraft looming overhead. Add a little betrayal in the mix and the town could riot and kill the Power Rangers for us."

"You'll never get away with it!" I snapped.

"You're done talking now." said Penny.

Despite my best efforts, I couldn't muster up any more words. She really did have control over my actions.

"Now get dressed," said Penny, "We've got a bank to rob."

Later that morning, Penny forced me to kick open the door of the Sector 0 bank. Every Sector has at least one bank, but the main one was downtown in Sector 0. Most of the money that all of the other banks had came from this one, so it made sense why this was the one we were targeting.

"ALRIGHT! EVERYONE GET DOWN ON THE FLOOR, THIS IS A BANK ROBBERRY!" I shouted, again, not by choice.

"Oz, be a doll and stop the manager before he can call the cops." said Penny.

It seemed like Penny's knowledge of bank robbers was based on a few movies. She decided to dress us in black outfits with balaclavas over our heads.

I kept trying to turn on Penny and point the gun she provided me at her, but it was hopeless. It was bad enough that she could control my actions, but she also seemed to be able to predict when I was about to try something.

As I approached the bank manager, I got down on my knees and pulled him down with me, so that it would hopefully look like I was fighting with him on the ground.

"Don't call the cops, instead call this number," I whispered to him, "780-555-2699."

"Why should I listen to you?" he asked, "Didn't you come here to rob the bank?"

"No, she did. She's in control of my actions," I whispered, "You have no idea hard it is just to tell you this."

Just then I was pulled off the manager and soared through the air. I landed at Penny's feet and she stomped hard on my chest.

"Naughty boy." she said scoldingly.

"You don't scare me bitch," I chuckled, "Once the other rangers get here, you're gonna get your perfect ass kicked so hard."

"We'll see." she said with a menacing smile.

 **"Stephen "Silver" Silverstone"**

"I'm sorry sir, who did you say gave you this number?" I asked.

There was a series of loud footsteps as Yuna scurried down the stairs.

"Oz is in danger!" she gasped.

I spun around in my office chair to look at her. She was still in her pyjamas.

"Yuna?" asked Sawyer, who was seated at the couch in the lounge area.

"I had a dream about Oz and that girl he went out with last night." panted Yuna.

"And?" asked Jenna, who was sitting at her desk.

"I already had a bad feeling about her when I first met her, but now..." said Yuna, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead.

"What did you see?" asked Sawyer.

"Penny is a demon." she whimpered.

Jenna stood up and ran over to Yuna to give her a big hug.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"It felt so real!" sobbed Yuna.

"Well, if what you saw is true, then Oz is going to need your help," said Jenna, letting go of her, "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yes, I think so. Thank you Jenna." said Yuna.

"Come on, let's go find the others." said Sawyer.

 **"Heath "Oz" Ostreicher"**

Penny had decided to have what she called "play time" with me. She was using her control over me to make me levitate in the air while punching myself in the face.

"You know, a real woman would punch me herself." I spat.

"Is that supposed to be an insult?" snickered Penny.

"No, actually," I said, "I'm just stalling for time until the others come kick your ass."

Now she advanced on me and slashed across the face with her nails, which I hadn't noticed had turned into claws like Commander Astrid's. Her swipe left a deep cut on my cheek.

"That's more like it." I chuckled.

"I'll give you one thing, you humans are nothing if not resilient," said Penny, "But that just means wiping out your disgusting race will be that much more satisfying."

Penny snapped her fingers and I fell to the ground.

"Now take your gun and shoot the bank manager!" she commanded.

I felt myself stand up and take out the gun she had given me. I flicked the safety off and pointed it toward the roof. I could feel Penny try to sway me to point it at the manager, who was cowering behind his desk.

Resisting her control over me was painful, and included a lot of back and forth. She would force me to move the gun towards the manager and aim at him, and then I would move it back towards the roof, only to have her undo what I managed.

"Trying to resist me, are you?" jeered Penny, "Pointless."

With a flourish, Penny manipulated me to move my arm so that the gun was now in my mouth. I started hyperventilating as my finger moved onto the trigger.

"Go ahead. Make me pull the trigger," I said, taking a deep, soothing breath, "It doesn't matter. My friends will avenge me and defeat the Crusaders!"

Penny snapped her fingers, I would imagine she was trying to make me shoot myself in the mouth, but nothing happened. My finger didn't move.

Upon seeing this, Penny snarled and snapped her fingers over and over again, but still nothing happened. I smirked at her and pointed the gun at her head. As soon as I did, an enormous explosion of yellow binary erupted from my chest that created a gigantic pillar of light. It was so bright that it was almost blinding. I felt an immense surge of power.

"Heath, this is called Burst Mode," said my codec, "This mode was locked away deep inside me, but you activated it by demonstrating truly embodying courage."

"Huh. Well, I suppose I am pretty brave," I said, "And codec, don't call me Heath."

"Your remarkable courage is what drew me to you in the first place," said my codec, "Burst mode doubles your power in ranger form. It can be difficult to maintain it without practice though."

"In that case, I better not waste it!" I said.

"The amount of energy that Burst Mode creates automatically transforms you into ranger form." said my codec.

"That's convenient."

I looked down at my suit. Burst Mode changed its overall design. Normally the predominant colour is yellow with white accents that have black outlines, but now the primary colour is white with yellow accents and black outlines. I was also emitting an aura of yellow energy.

"Hate to break it to you," I said, "But you've got no control over me anymore."

"You think that's all I've got!?" roared Penny, her voice sounding quite demonic now.

All the fake skin that she had applied before she was deployed to the party store melted away, revealing a form not unlike the stereotypical depiction of aliens. Grey skin, large black eyes, big head, skinny body.

The only difference is that Penny still had hair, and her body was much more feminine looking. Now I know what it must feel like to wake up and be tempted to gnaw off my arm after seeing who was sleeping in my bed.

"Download weapon!" I called.

My hammer materialized in my outstretched hand. Penny advanced at me and opened her mouth, revealing rows upon rows of sharp teeth. The closest thing I could think of is how sharks have layers of teeth so that if one tooth fall out, another is ready to take its place.

"Stay back, you ugly whore!" I shouted, swinging high to try and hit her in the haw.

Penny threw her back and roared, a strange blood red tongue flailing in her mouth as she did so. I took a few steps closer and tried to swing at her a few more times.

"I didn't feel like you needed to know, but if you had shot yourself," growled Penny, "I was going to eat you to keep up my human facade and go after your leader, Silver!"

"You eat humans!?" I shouted, disgusted.

"The Crusaders recruit in thousands upon thousands of different dimensions, each one has its own unique species and cultures," she growled again, "In mine, humans are considered a delicacy, although it's not very common for them to accidentally end up there."

"Chew on this!" I roared, swing my hammer hard, "Lightning."

A trail of sparks formed at the head of my hammer and I slammed it down hard, creating a shockwave of electricity that radiated outward. Penny jumped over it with ease, laughing sadistically.

Behind me, I noticed five streaks of coloured light fly down and land on the floor of the bank. One by one, the others emerged from the lights, but unfortunately they were in civilian form.

"Why didn't you guys morph?" I whispered.

"We were trying to be discrete." said Riley.

"I guess it doesn't really matter anymore," said Rachel, "The Crusaders already know who are. If a few people in the bank, I doubt the world would come to a screeching halt."

"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Chloe, "Oz needs backup."

"Ready?" asked Yuna.

"READY!" they called together.

"RED RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Riley.

"BLUE RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Rachel.

"GREEN RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Yuna.

"ORANGE RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Chloe.

"PURPLE RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Sawyer.

"Alright everyone! let's make this freak regret the day she tried to make me shoot myself!"

"Rangers!" came Silver's voice, "I think know would be the perfect time to try out the new special attack Jenna came up with."

"The information for it is already in your Digitizer's info bank," said Jenna, "But the gist of it is that you all stand side by side and run at your enemy. If the six of you press and hold all the buttons on your Digitizers in perfect sync, you'll essentially turn yourselves into six digital bullets."

"Wow!" I snorted delightedly, "That sounds awesome!"

"Maybe from your point of view," said Jenna, "On our end, your just teleporting through your enemies."

"Go ahead and try it out," said Silver, "Do it before Oz's Burst Mode wears off. It'll be stronger while his power output doubled."

We all stood side by side and took each other's hands. After exchanging glances, we started running at Penny.

"On my count!" I said loudly, "One! Two! Three!"

We all moved in perfect harmony. I could tell it worked because as soon as I started holding the buttons, I found myself standing several feet further than I where I started.

If I had been able to observe that attack, it probably would've looked identical to us teleporting, except faster and we weren't going up in the air.

I turned around and saw Penny crumple to the ground and then burst into flames! I guess that happens to everyone of whatever species she was. Not that I really care. It certainly makes our jobs, since Astrid can't make her bigger if she's a pile of ashes.

My ranger outfit disintegrated and I collapsed to my knees.

"Man, my codec did warn me that it would take practice for us to be able to activate Burst Mode on command and maintain for longer," I gasped, "But I didn't think much of it until now. I feel like I just ran a thousand back to back marathons."

"Oz? Are you gonna be okay?" asked Chloe, "You didn't think you loved her, did you?"

"No... We didn't get that far," I said, "I mean, the date was great. I definitely would've called her again. You know, until she took control of my body and told me she wanted to EAT ME. You know what? No more dating until the Crusaders are gone. You never know if you're dating a human or a demon in disguise!"

"You don't really mean that, do you?" asked Rachel.

"Yes, I do."

"I'll give it a week until he forgets and goes back to skirt chasing." said Chloe.

"Why would he chase skirts?" asked Yuna, "They're inanimate objects. Shouldn't he be chasing the girls that wear them?"

"That's what it means, Yuna." said Sawyer.

"Oh."

I looked at my watch.

"Oh crap! I've gotta get back to my place or I'm gonna miss... NASCAR." I said, turning around on my heel and scampering out the main door the bank.

I heard someone say something about how it wasn't even NASCAR season, but I didn't care. I needed to watch "Desires" to clear my mind before Silver's party. Especially since if I did end up hiring a stripper to piss off Rachel, I needed to be in the zone if I wanted to score with her afterwards. I just hope this isn't foreshadowing my future luck with women...


	11. Craving

Chloe's Apartment, Sector 15  
Yuna's Dream  
August 20th, 2018  
9:00 AM

 **"Yuna Murphy"**

Chloe invited me over to her place just to hang out. I was surprised to see that there was an actual stripper pole in her living room.

"Did you install that?" I asked, running my finger up the cool metal.

"Yup. I made it myself with parts I scavenged from the scrap yard." she said.

"How does your landlord feel about that?" I asked.

"Quite frankly, it's none of his business," said Chloe, "If you were to look up the word 'sleaze' in the dictionary, you'd find a picture of him smirking at you."

"Are you sure you're safe here?"

"Sergio is a bit of a pervert, but he's harmless," said Chloe, "He already knows that I'm bi and that he has no chance with me. I would sooner hook up with Sawyer again."

"Is that why things went south with you two?" I asked.

"No, Rachel already helped me come out before Sawyer and I started dating," said Chloe, "Sawyer and I just aren't right for each other."

"When did you um... Realize that you like both boys and girls?" I asked, biting my nails.

"Don't do that!" snapped Chloe, "We just got manicures the other day."

I took my fingers out of my mouth and stood up from the couch.

"Well, I guess somewhere deep down I always knew," sighed Chloe, "But the biggest clue was probably when I fell in love with Rachel when I was fourteen, even though I had a boyfriend at the time. I actually lost my virginity to him."

"But Rachel isn't...?" I began.

"I know. It broke my heart. But I got over it when I saw how great she is with Riley," said Chloe, "You don't have to worry about any of that though. I invited you over so I could teach you how to dance."

"Why will I need to know how to dance?" I asked.

"Didn't you say you were looking for a job?" asked Chloe, indicating the pole, "I wasn't too thrilled at first either, but eventually once you get the hang of it, it's a lot of fun and people will spend hours at the club just for a chance to watch you."

"No offense, but I'd rather find a job where I can leave my clothes on."

"Well then how about I just dance for you?" she asked, walking over to me while shaking her hips seductively.

Chloe leaned in close to my face and lingered there momentarily. I eagerly met her halfway for a passionate kiss. I got goose bumps when I felt her tongue slide into my mouth.

"Hey! New girl!" snapped a grouchy voice.

"What? Oh yeah I'm still with you." I muttered.

"I don't pay you to daydream!" barked Horace, the manager, "You've got a customer!"

I have never had a job before, but I was tired of just letting Silver pay for everything. He was already letting me stay in the mansion for free, it just started to feel weird letting him also pay for all my food and clothes too.

So Silver and Jenna offered to help prepare me for what the job would be like by role playing a simulated job for the last few days. Once they felt like I was starting to catch on, they let me go out and find a job.

It didn't take long for me to find Mega Burger in Sector 4. Riley, Rachel, Oz and Chloe seemed apprehensive and suspicious about it, but I didn't understand why, so they told me that Metro City was self contained and had no chains that one would find outside the city.

They had never even heard of Mega Burger before, so to them it seemed like it popped up overnight. I don't see why that should raise suspicions, it could be that one of the Cosmo's locations was bought out by a different company and rebranded, or maybe our ranger duties kept us too busy for them to notice the building go up.

"Sorry Horace," I sighed, "Won't happen again."

I turned to the customer.

"Sorry about that, I'm new," I said, "This is just my first week."

Several hours later, just before I was ready to go for my break, Chloe and Rachel came up to the counter. When I saw Chloe, my heart started beating really fast. That fantasy was still fresh in my mind.

"Hey you two," I said with a smile, "What's up?"

"Now now, Yuna. That doesn't sound very professional." said Rachel, snickering.

I rolled my eyes with a sigh,

"Welcome to Mega Burger, may I take your order?" I said.

"Much better." chuckled Chloe.

"I'll take a #2 combo, and Chloe will just an order of fries." said Rachel, looking at Chloe to check with her as she spoke.

"Coming up," I said, "I'll bring them out and take my break with you two."

After placing the order on the tray, I let my hair down out of the tight bun we had to wear it in and came to sit next to Rachel at the booth she and Chloe had sat down at. I hate wearing my hair up.

It makes me feel like I'm being forced to look more masculine. I know it's stupid. I know the only reason for it here was to make sure none of my hair got into the food, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

"Do you think you could get me a job here?" asked Chloe, "I like that outfit they make you were. If you look cute in it, then I'd probably look cute in it too."

"Chloe? What exactly is that supposed to mean?" said Rachel.

"It means what it means," said Chloe, "I'm just complimenting her to try and cheer her up."

"That's very inappropriate!" scolded Rachel.

"Um why?" asked Chloe.

"Yeah." I said.

Rachel blushed and looked like she was grabbing at straws, trying to find a good answer.

"Oh just ignore me," she chuckled, "I had a late class last night."

"Okay then..." said Chloe, with her mouth full, "You know, I think I might actually like this better than Cosmo's."

"So how does it feel to earn your own money?" asked Rachel, taking a bite of her burger.

"Fine I guess," I muttered, "You might not know this about me, but my dangerous life in the future that I came from has given me a sort of sixth sense. It hits me like all the other five senses at once. Sometimes I even get cryptic visions, like about Penny."

"Are you sensing something about this place?" asked Chloe, scarfing down another handful of fries.

"Well, the manager, Horace, he smells really weird. It's like he's a burger in human form," I said, "And the people that work here... They all walk around as if they're in some sort of trance."

"That doesn't sound like cause for alarm." said Rachel, who was fixated on her fries, which she was dunking enthusiastically in a ketchup cup.

"My sixth sense is never wrong!" I whined.

"Yuna, 'The Sixth Sense' is a movie starring Bruce Willis," said Chloe, "You might want to come up with a different name for it."

"Why should I change it? I came up with it first!"

"Not really," said Rachel, "That movie came out in 1999."

Just then I could smell it again. The same smell that I associated with Horace. It was coming from the burger Rachel had just picked up and was about to take another bite of. I grabbed it from her and inhaled deeply.

"That's the smell!" I exclaimed.

"Can I have it back now, please?" asked Rachel, "I'm hungry. I didn't get a chance to have breakfast."

"I don't think any of us should eat this stuff," I said, "Silver needs to chemically break down one of these burgers. Tell him I have a hunch. That should be enough for him."

"But this stuff is SO good..." whined Chloe.

"For all we know, the secret ingredient could be the same blue goop the Creepers are made from." I said.

"Well, there goes my appetite." said Rachel.

"Mine too." said Chloe.

"Please, you two," I said, "Get Silver to look into this for me."

"There you are, Yuna," said Horace, putting his beef scented hand on my shoulder, "Gary never showed up. I need you to cut your break short and cover for him."

 **"Stephen "Silver" Silverstone"**

"What am I supposed to do with this?" I asked, "I already ate lunch."

"Yuna wanted you to chemically break it down." said Rachel.

"With my computer?" I asked.

"No, like using science or whatever." said Chloe.

"I'm a technological genius," I said, "I have no experience with chemistry at all."

"I guess she just assumed that because you're really smart you'd instinctively know how to do that." said Rachel.

"Why does she want to know about the burger anyway?" I asked.

"Yuna said something about having some sort of sixth sense, as she called it," said Chloe, "She thinks it might be evil or something."

"An evil cheeseburger?" I chuckled.

"No, not the burger itself, I think she means the ingredients." said Chloe.

"Mind if I butt in?" asked Sawyer, coming down the stairs of Headquarters.

"Please do." I said.

"Michelle minored in Chemistry in university," said Sawyer, "She might be able to help us out."

"And she does already know about who we are and about the Crusaders," I said, "It's worth a try, give her a call."

Sawyer called Michelle and was glad to find her home. He teleported to her apartment and returned instantaneously with her hand held tightly in his own.

"Wait until all my friends hear that I was chosen to help the Power Rangers save the world!" she gasped sarcastically.

Michelle opened a knapsack and pulled out a bunch of large chemistry equipment. I watched her curiously as she proceeded to set it up on the table that I cleared off for her.

"So what are we doing?" she asked.

"Yuna is working at that new Mega Burger restaurant, and she thinks there might be something weird with the food," said Rachel, "She gave us a burger and asked us to chemically break it down."

"She wants to see the individual ingredients," said Michelle, "Alright, I'll see what I can do."

"Okay, you can get started on that," said Chloe, "I'm going back to the restaurant to keep an eye on Yuna."

 **"Yuna Murphy"**

As I was sweeping the floor near the deep fryer, I heard what was probably the most disgusting sound I've ever heard in my life. It was squelchy and spine-tingling.

I peered into Horace's office through the keyhole and gasped. Horace was a messy eater, he was pigging out on what looked like a giant mound of beef.

"This is the best plan we've ever come up with." he burped.

I went back to sweeping the floor while I mulled over what I just saw and heard. After I was done with sweeping, I went back up to the counter to check for customers and saw that Chloe was sitting at a booth, wearing a trench coat and dark sunglasses, while reading a newspaper to hide her face.

There were no customers anywhere, and Horace was in his office doing whatever that repulsive squelching sound had been. I realized that I could have a little fun with her.

I grabbed the megaphone that was normally meant for calling customer numbers and ducked down out of site.

"CHLOE BALDWIN! YOUR FOOD IS READY!" I shouted in the megaphone.

Chloe jumped in her seat and then whipped around to try and find where the sound came from. I was on the floor, rolling on my back, laughing silently when she suddenly vaulted over the counter and pinned me to the ground.

She was sitting on top of me now. I felt my heart start to beat really fast again. Hopefully she couldn't tell.

"Very funny, Yuna," she said with a smile, "But can't you see that I'm undercover?"

"Nobody but you would ever think that you could be undercover while wearing a bright pink trench coat." I chuckled.

She was so close to me. It was just like my daydream earlier. I couldn't stop myself, Chloe is so beautiful and she smells so good. I put my hands on the small of her back and pushed her closer to me.

She didn't move away. She seemed to be silently giving me permission. I moved my head closer to hers and kissed her. I could hear imaginary fireworks and my heart skipped a beat. After a few seconds, we broke apart.

"Yuna, you're-" began Chloe.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!" roared Horace, who was trembling with rage, "SAME SEX COURTSHIP IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST SINS! IT'S AN AFFRONT TO THE GREAT PSION!"

"Actually, I'm bisexual," said Chloe, "What about you, Yuna?"

"Just girls." I said in a voice that was barely even audible.

"YOUR ACTIONS HAVE FORCED MY HAND!" Horace snarled, "WE WERE GOING TO LET THE POISON KILL YOU ALL SLOWLY, BUT NOW I NEED TO ACCELERATE THE PROCESS BEFORE YOU WRETCHED HUMANS COMMIT MORE SINS!"

"Homosexuality is against the Teachings of Psion," I said to Chloe, "That's actually one of the reasons I wanted to come to your time. The only people that are still alive on Earth are those who converted to Psion's Teaching in exchange for being spared. Now people like me are hunted down and slaughtered like animals. And the Crusaders are still around, looking for anyone that hid so they wouldn't have to convert."

"That's horrible!" muttered Chloe.

"I know," I said, "I also know that defeating the Crusaders is my destiny. Why else would the green codec have chosen me?"

Chloe's cell phone rang. Not her Digitizer, only Silver and the other rangers can communicate with us using those. Chloe looked puzzled and hit the speaker button so that we could all hear. I stood between her and Horace.

"Hello?"

"Chloe?" came Michelle's voice, "Something IS wrong with the burgers! They contain massive amounts of a chemical that I can't identify."

"Is it dangerous?" asked Chloe.

"Not in very small doses," said Michelle, "Whatever it is, it shares a lot of similarities with both warfarin and anthrax! My ball park guess is that someone laced the burgers with an extremely potent homemade poison."

"What does that mean?" I asked loudly so that my voice would carry.

"Anyone who ate the burgers could start haemorrhaging internally as well get severe infections on their skin, lungs or intestines," said Michelle, "Which Silver says is probably more than 50% of the population of Metro City!"

"Chloe, you only had the fries, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, but what about you?" she asked.

"No, I never got around to eating any of the food." I said.

"Then you two, Silver, Jenna and me are all safe." said Michelle.

"LORD COMMANDER! THE POISON HAS BEEN SPREAD! TRIGGER THE CHEMICAL REACTION NOW!" exploded Horace, maniacally.

"Well done, Gluttony!" came Astrid's shrill voice from somewhere high above.

"Chemical reaction?" I asked.

"Oh my god! David!?" shrieked Michelle, "Oh no! Not you three too!"

There was the sound of Michelle's phone clattering to the ground.

"Looks like it's just you and me, Yuna." said Chloe.

"You two are afraid!" cackled Horace, "I can taste it already! Did you know that humans are a delicacy where I come from?"

"Careful Chloe, if I didn't know any better, I would say that Horace is really the Sin Lord, Gluttony!" I sighed.

"Gluttony?" she asked.

"Stuffing your face with food." I elaborated.

Horace roared and opened his mouth wide. He doubled and then tripled in size until he was over 7' tall! Then his human skin began to bubble like hot wax. He quickly transformed into a massive, revolting monster that was so massive and fat that it was almost completely round. It had greasy skin that was covered in boils. Gluttony's whole body looked like one enormous stomach, except right in the middle was a mouth, complete with a tongue!

"THAT is disgusting..." moaned Chloe, "I think I'm gonna be sick."

"For you sacrilege, I think I'll kill you two slowly by eating you while you're still alive!" gurgled the monster. When it spoke, it's voice sounded like it was constantly licking it's lips.

"So what's the plan this time?" I asked.

"Since the last few plans didn't warrant much results, this time Commander Astrid let me come up with my own scheme," cackled Gluttony, "We create a product that will get humans hooked so that they'll keep coming back for more!"

"But what they don't know is that all the meat is marinated with a special concoction of poisons that we can control with the flick of a button," it continued, "If the plan works, once the humans are incapacitated, my reward is feasting on as many as I can. Then the lesser agents will slaughter the rest!"

"Simple enough," said Chloe, "We kick your gigantic ass and just like that, everyone that ate the burgers will be cured!"

"Don't judge me by size!" snarled Gluttony, "I have never lost a battle before, and I'm not going to start now. Especially not since I just ate a few delicious employees! I'm energized and ready to crush you two sinners!"

Chloe's phone rang again. She answered it by hitting the speaker button.

"Hello?"

"Chloe. The others are dying!" sobbed Michelle, "Silver, Jenna and I are doing what we can, but this is the fastest acting poison I've ever seen!"

"We think that the Crusaders only sped up the progression in the Rangers," shouted Jenna, from somewhere farther away in Headquarters, "Meaning that the rest of the population isn't in immediate danger."

"Well that's good," I said, "Just keep doing what you can to buy us time."

"Ready?" asked Chloe.

"You know it." I said.

"Orange Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Chloe.

"Green Ranger! CYBER POWER!" I shouted.

Chloe and I were now fully transformed. I always noticed how nice and form fitting the ranger outfits are, but since only Chloe knows that I'm into girls, it was only safe for me to be REALLY be myself around her.

"Orange is definitely your colour." I said.

"Personally, I would have preferred to be the pink ranger," said Orange, "But it turns out that there's no pink codec..."

"Download weapon!" I said, holding out my hand to take the shotgun as it materialized.

"Download weapon!" called Orange, extending her hand to claim the axe that materialized.

"Yuna, don't forget, you have a synthetic element too," came Jenna's voice, "Yours is wind. You can use it fire air bullets among other things."

"Very cool," I said, "I'll bet I can replace the rounds from my shotgun."

"Earth." said Orange.

She dashed forward and slammed her axe on the ground. Large spikes erupted from the ground under Gluttony, but nothing happened. Gluttony didn't even seem to notice.

"Was that supposed to be an attack!?" it chuckled.

"That's not a good sign," muttered Orange, "Green, why don't you give it a try?"

"Wind." I said, pumping my shotgun.

I could see small gusts of wind appear outside the shotgun, then they flew right through it and entered the chamber.

I took aim and fired a wind shell at Gluttony. It's giant mouth inhaled the round and shot it back out. Luckily, I saw it and was able to dodge it.

"It might not look like it, but that thing is really tough!" I grunted.

"We need more power," said Orange, "EXECUTE BURST MODE!"

She threw a punch in midair and held out her first momentarily. The orange codec exploded with light from inside the case on her Digitizer. The explosion enveloped Orange and formed a large ball of orange binary. When it was gone, her suit's colours had swapped.

"How do I do that!?" I gasped excitedly.

"You haven't unlocked it yet." said Orange.

"Earth!" she called, twirling her axe around.

Her axe was small enough that she could use it with just one hand, but she could also use two hands to add power to the swing. And that's exactly what she did.

"I think I know what to do." she said.

Instead of attacking, she threw the axe like a hammer in the hammer toss event at the Olympics that I read about. It moved so fast that it was practically a blur. It also went inside of Gluttony's large mouth, but this time, the mouth closed on it.

There was a strange gurgling sound and the mouth turned into a frown. The noise intensified and now it was accompanied by loud, painful groans. Gluttony tried to use its stubby little arms to reach inside its mouth, but they were too short reach.

"WHAT... HAVE... YOU... SINNERS... DONE... TO... ME!?" it roared.

Orange snickered and snapped her fingers. There was a bloodcurdling scream as her axe exploded in a massive blast of boulders. There was also lots of blood and bones in the explosion. Once everything had calmed down, I could see that Orange's attack had literally blown Gluttony apart. There was a putrid smell in the air.

"OH MY GOD!" shrieked Orange, collapsing to her knees, "THAT IS THE MOST HORRENDOUS THING I'VE EVER SMELT!"

"You okay?" I chuckled.

"How can you stand it?" she wailed.

"If you knew what the future I came from was like, you'd understand that it would take a lot more than a bad smell to make me sick," I sighed, "Wait a minute... You weren't trying to blow it up, were you?"

"No!" groaned Orange, "I just knew that I had to attack it from inside it's body!"

"But hey, look at the bright side," I said with a grin, even though she couldn't see it, "We won. Which means the others will be fine."

"The Almighty Psion commands that you rise again!" came Astrid's shrill voice.

From above the clouds and in through the roof of Mega Burger, nine gigantic golden rings landed on top of each other. The rings were the precise size so that all of Gluttony's remains would fit perfectly inside them.

There was a loud whirring sound and the rings started to glow. Now we could see that there were invisible glyphs on the outside of the rings that only light up when the rings start glowing.

"Orange..." I said, waving my hand in front of her face, "This isn't over yet."

"What's with the giant rings?" she asked.

"The Crusaders use them to resurrect their agents," I said, "They can phase through solid matter, which means that even if the agent was miles underground, they could still reach it."

"Why have we never seen them before?" asked Orange.

"Because they don't need to use them for lesser agents like Creepers," I said, "For that they just transform that blue goop into a larger version."

"This is bad..." moaned Orange, "We can't form the Megazord with just the two of us!"

"Chloe, Yuna!" came Silver's voice, "We've been watching the whole thing live. I think there's a way we can control certain pieces of the Megazord remotely from here."

"What's he saying?" asked Orange.

"They're going to use remote controls to fill in for the missing pieces." I said.

"Sounds cool," said Orange, "Silver, send the V2 Zords!"

"They're on their way!" said Silver, "Jenna and I will each be controlling two Zords from here."

"I don't think my Class 5 license covers Zords." chuckled Jenna.

"Download Data Zord!" called Jenna, "Mark 1!"

"Download Data Zord!" called Orange, "Mark 2!"

"Download Data Zord!" called Silver, "Mark 3!"

"Download Data Zord!" I called, "Mark 4!"

"Download Data Zord!" called Jenna, "Mark 5!"

"Download Data Zord!" called Silver, "Mark 6!"

The Mark Zords materialized around us one by one. The purple one resembled a futuristic stealth plane, the orange one resembled a sports car, mine resembled a helicopter, the yellow one resembled an excavator, the blue one resembled an ambulance and the red one resembled an enormous semi truck.

"Commence V2 Megazord transformation sequence!" I announced.

Orange and I hopped into the cockpits of our respective Zords. As the Zords began to assemble themselves, it felt like I was lifted up above the action to observe the transformation, even though I hadn't really moved anywhere.

Yellow's excavator became the right arm, with the digging arm being the Megazord's actual arm. Orange's racer became the Megazord's head. Blue's ambulance became the torso. Red's semi became the legs. My helicopter transformed to give menacing bladed wings to the Megazord. Finally, Purple's stealth plane became the left arm.

Now that the transformation was complete, it was like I had been dreaming everything I had just seen. I opened my eyes and found that I was still sitting at my station in the cockpit.

"Cyberspace Megazord V2, online!" I said in unison with Orange.

The giant rings might not damage the buildings, but the monsters definitely do. Gluttony was already enormously fat, but now it was even bigger.

"Psion has given me another chance to eradicate you sinners!" it growled.

"With all six V2 Zords forming the Megazord," said Silver, "We've unlocked its ultimate weapon, the Blade of Righteousness!"

Silver had taken over the yellow and purple Zords, which were the right and left arms. So he did whatever he was doing to make them draw a huge, jagged sword from thin air.

"Sweet!" I said, "This is the first time we've been able to combine all six V2 Zords!"

"Hence the badass sword." said Orange.

"You sinners make me sick! You need to be punished!" snorted Gluttony.

There was another gurgling sound, but this time it sounded a bit less bizarre. Gluttony cackled and opened its mouth wide. Then a massive stream of vomit erupted from it and doused the Megazord from head to toe.

Gluttony's arms were too short for it to wipe it's mouth, so there was still some puke dripping off its lips.

"Okay that does it," said Orange, "It was bad enough when it almost made me hurl when it exploded, but this just goes too far!"

"Jenna," I said, "Make the torso rotate around over and over again as fast as you can! We need to get this crap off us!"

"Roger." she said.

We spun around and all the vomit was thrown off right back to Gluttony. It splattered all over its body and started to steam. We could hear a faint hissing sound, as well as pained snarling.

"AAHH! IT BURNS!" moaned Gluttony.

"Of course," I said, "The vomit must be acidic. If the Megazord was made of metal, it probably would've damaged the structural integrity, but because the Megazord is just a digital construct, it had no effect!"

"Let's finish this sick bastard now while it's distracted!" hollered Orange.

"JUSTICE STRIKE!" shouted the four of us together, even though we were in different places.

Bluish energy started gathering in the middle of the sword, it moved downwards towards the hilt and upwards towards the tip. Jenna made the Megazord run forwards and then dive into a spiraling lunge, while Silver pointed the sword forwards.

We rocketed in the direction of the jumbo sized Gluttony and drilled right through it in one swift motion. It screamed in agony again, but this time it didn't explode. This time, it melted, leaving nothing behind for the Crusaders to resurrect.

"LORD PSION, FORGIVE ME!" shrieked Gluttony as it disappeared.

"Great work everyone!" called Silver.

Once we were sure that Gluttony was gone and that it wouldn't be coming back, we exited the Megazord and reverted back to our civilian forms.

"Wow," said Chloe, "So much for Mega Burger."

"Good riddance." I said.

"You know, I can help you come out to the others," she said, "Trust me. You'll feel SO much better once you just get it out there."

"It doesn't really matter," I said, "Once we defeat the Crusaders, I'll cease to exist when history is rewritten."

"When people see us together, they'll start making assumptions," said Chloe, "If you just tell people, then it'll make things even easier."

"Chloe, I just don't feel comfortable with that," I said, "It was hard enough for me to tell you. I saw other girls like me get slaughtered because of what they were."

"This is 2018, not 2041. That would never happen here."

"Just give me time." I said, with an air of finality.

"Alright," said Chloe, "Come on, let's go check on the others."

We teleported back to Headquarters. Michelle was lying on top Sawyer, who seemed to have just regained consciousness in one of the sick beds. Oz was already and about, searching for a shirt to put on. Riley and Rachel had been placed in adjoining beds and were holding hands.

"Nice job ladies," said Oz, "You saved the day and the whole city."

"We couldn't have done it without Silver and Jenna, they helped us pilot the Megazord." said Chloe.

Chloe's eyes moved down slowly to see that I had both of her hands in mine in a way that would not be appropriate for two friends, but I didn't care. I wasn't ready to officially come out yet, but maybe what Chloe was saying was true.

Even if I stayed in the closet forever, people would eventually catch on out, so until then, I needed to gradually make progress until I felt brave enough to admit the one thing about myself that I used to hate back in 2041. But here, it's something that I can not only pursue, but embrace.

"Chloe?" asked Rachel from across the room, "Why is Yuna holding your hands!?"

"She was feeling woozy," I said, "You guys didn't see, but that Gluttony monster exploded and there was blood and guts everywhere, it was pretty disgusting."

"Yeah, and then it also puked on us," said Chloe, "Luckily that time, we were safe inside the Megazord."

Rachel didn't seem convinced. She walked over and looked Chloe up and down before glaring at her. Then she turned her nose up at her and walked away with her arms crossed.

"What's her problem?" I asked.

"I have no idea." she said.


	12. Aftermath

Rebel Base  
Ruins of Metro City  
September 1st, 2041 (Timeline A)  
6:57 PM

 **"Priya Underwood"**

"Alright," said Captain Amanda Bishop, "Before we start, I just want to make sure that everyone is here so that I won't have to repeat myself. Let's go around the room and have you all state your names."

The Militia was formed by Amanda Bishop. She recruited me first. I was originally training to become a soldier before the Crusaders attacked. I never finished my training with them, but the skills I already had proved extremely useful.

Each member joined because they lost nearly everyone that they ever cared about. But I was the lucky exception. I joined because I wanted to put my training to good use and help people. The person I care about most is my girlfriend Yuna, who is also a member of the Militia.

After listening to the Captain, the Militia's mission just really appealed to me. I hated what the world had become after the Crusader attacks and wanted to do something about it. Maybe defeating them will undo all the damage they caused. They have so much to answer for.

"Heather Ostreicher." said Heather.

"Sebastian Clark." said Seb.

"Jenna Dawson." said Jenna.

"Stephen Silverstone." said Silver.

"Arthur Murphy." said Yuna's adoptive brother.

"Yuna Murphy." said Yuna.

"Priya Underwood." I said.

Yes, I know what you might be thinking. I have a strange name. Well, I was born in India, but I was raised in Canada when my parents moved there. That's why I have a blended name. I can speak Hindi, but it was never my strong suit.

My parents are still perfectly fluent, but they chose not to speak it after the move so that I wouldn't get confused. The only thing I still embrace about our culture is to don a gorgeous red sari during very special occasions.

Everybody else stated their names too. Once everyone had a turn and the Captain knew that everyone was in the room, she proceeded.

"This is a pivotal mission," she began, "Our scouts have reported that there's a small refuge of people hiding in a makeshift shelter where the food court of the Mega Mall used to be. No doubt the Crusaders are planning to ravage the shelter and the people inside."

"We're going to deploy our best fighter and have them warn everyone inside about the incoming danger and then escort them back to the base where, hopefully, they'll be willing to join our cause." she continued.

"They'd better, considering we just saved all of their asses." said Heather.

There were a couple of chuckles. Even the Captain smirked.

"So now the question becomes," said the Captain, "Which one of you do you think is our best fighter?"

"Priya." said everyone at exactly the same time.

"Me?" I asked, a little shocked.

"Yes you," said Heather, "You're the only one that's actually killed an agent."

"With a mission this important, there's no room for mistakes." said Seb.

"Well, I suppose," I said, "If you all think I can do it."

"We know you can do it." said Silver.

"Alright," I said, "Captain, I'll volunteer for the mission."

"Excellent," said the Captain, "Take about 30 minutes to prepare yourself. I want you ready for deployment at 7:30."

"Yes ma'am." I said, saluting her.

"Priya, I'm not a real captain. You don't have to salute me." she said.

"Sorry," I said, "Force of habit."

Twenty five minutes later, I sat up in my bed and stretched. I feel like a quick nap before any sort of mission always warrants better results. Yuna woke up at the same time and put her arms around my chest.

We were both completely naked, and not just because of what he had finished doing. It could get pretty warm in the base, so I often slept naked to handle the temperature.

"Don't go, stay," she said in a seductive voice, "Another half hour won't make a difference."

"Captain Bishop specifically told me to be ready for deployment at 7:30." I said.

"I have ways of making you stay." giggled Yuna.

"What did you do?" I asked, trying to break free from her grip.

"Nothing," she said, "In fact, if you want to get dressed, go ahead, but I'm not letting go."

I reached back and tickled her. Yuna fell backwards and let go of me when she started laughing silently. Once I was free, I stood up to look at myself in the mirror in our room.

My black hair was matted and my dark skin was dirty from all the missions and outings. Hot water and soap were precious commodities.

I scoured the floor of my room for some underwear. I found what was probably my last clean pair and slid them on. Then I grabbed the pants I had been wearing before my break and pulled them on while looking at myself in the mirror.

My shirt was hanging on the same hook as my pants had been, but I couldn't find my bra. I can't go out on a mission without wearing something to help with support. Then I realized what happened.

"Alright!" I announced, "Give it back."

"Give what back?" asked Yuna innocently.

"My bra." I said.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she said with a mischievous grin, "You can even strip search me if you want, but you'll never find it."

"You're wearing it under your shirt," I snickered, "I can see it from here."

Yuna stuck out her tongue at me, and I jumped on top of her and pinned her to the bed.

"I love you so much." I said.

"I love you more." she said.

Yuna smiled and came in for a kiss. While she was distracted, I reached up into her shirt, unhooked my bra and pulled it out. She had just put mine on over top of hers, that's what gave it away.

"Damn!" she giggled, "You and your lips are my weakness!"

I stood up again and finished getting dressed. As I buttoned up my shirt, Yuna stood and started getting dressed too.

"I'm coming with you." said Yuna.

"It's not a two person mission!" I protested, "But I know that I'd have a better chance stopping a moving train than you once you've made up your mind."

"If the Captain doesn't like it, that's really too bad," said Yuna, "I'm not letting my girlfriend go on a dangerous mission without backup."

"If I take you along, you need to follow my directions to the letter," I said, "Since you're the newest member, you haven't had as much combat training as the rest of us."

"That doesn't mean I can't handle myself." said Yuna.

"Oh I know that," I chuckled, "When I first met you, I was shocked how strong you are, despite not being a trained fighter. It's one of the reasons I fell for you so hard."

"Strong like an amazon?" asked Yuna.

"You know it." I said.

I let myself fall backwards onto the bed, knowing that she would catch me. When I looked up, I could see Yuna's face upside down. She was beautiful even upside down. I tilted my back and went in for another kiss, which she reciprocated eagerly.

Later on, Yuna and I were both decked out in our combat armour. She had to sneak out of the base to come with me, since the Captain would try to stop her from leaving if she used the deployment door.

"Good luck, Priya," said the Captain, "Try to remain in radio contact at all times."

"Understood," I said, "I'll do my best for our cause."

I met up with Yuna around the back of the base. I placed the duffel bag I was carrying down and unzipped it to reveal the various pieces for a blaster, and a P90 sub-machine gun. We're only allowed one weapon per person.

"Any difficulties?" she asked.

"The Captain trusts me," I said, "She didn't even search me."

"How do you put it together?" asked Yuna.

"You don't have to worry about that," I said, handing her the P90, "You'll be using this and I'll be using the blaster."

I took all the pieces of the blaster and proceeded to assemble it. First the energy capsule slides into place, next the outer case goes on top of that, finally you attach the nozzle and load the chamber. It makes an electronic whirring sound if you load the chamber correctly.

"Are you sure you want to come with me?" I asked, "This is a dangerous mission."

Yuna gave me her usual raised eyebrow stare. I knew exactly what it meant.

"Alright, just stay close to me." I said.

The wastelands were tricky to navigate. The battles with the Crusaders had ravaged the environment and rendered the ground dry and sterile. Even though we were in the middle of Metro City, all the demolished buildings made it nearly impossible to tell where we were or what direction we were traveling in.

"Sometimes seeing all this destruction makes me wonder why we even bother." sighed Yuna.

I tapped her on the shoulder so that she'd turn around and face me.

"We bother because we're the only ones left that can stand up to the Crusaders," I said, "Captain Bishop brought us together to carry on the work of the Power Rangers."

"She did?"

"Did you know her younger brother was the Red Ranger?" I asked, "She raised him herself for over 10 years after their parents died. She chose to risk her life to make sure he didn't die in vain."

"So you believe in the mission?" she asked.

"With every fibre of my being," I said, "I refuse to believe that God would let something like this happen if there was no way for us to undo it."

"That's right. Sometimes I forget that you're Catholic." said Yuna.

"I was Catholic. Now I'm a rebel," I said, "Religion is about as useful as faulty blaster out here in the wasteland."

"You do know where we're going, right?" asked Yuna.

"Of course," I said, "Shouldn't you know too?"

"Just because I survived out there alone doesn't mean I ever learned my way around. It's not like there are any landmarks." said Yuna.

"Hold up!" I whispered, holding up my hand and performing the gesture for 'stop'.

"What is it?" whispered Yuna.

"There's a scout up ahead. See him?"

"No."

"Their glowing red eyes give them away." I whispered.

"Oh yeah, now I see it."

"It looks like there's only one," I whispered, "Why don't you go see if you can kill it?"

Yuna nodded at me and stayed low to the ground. She crawled forward using her elbows until she was within range. She got up onto her knees and took aim. She fired eight rounds. and the scout's eyes went out.

"Nice!" I cheered.

Yuna came back to me like a well trained dog.

"So where to now?" she asked.

"That way," I said, "Pointing with my arm. Northeast."

Yuna nodded and slung her gun over her shoulder using the strap. My eyes grew wide as I noticed that something had crept up behind her. What she destroyed probably wasn't a scout at all, it was probably a lure that someone made to look like a Crusader scout.

"BEHIND YOU!" I shrieked.

I was too late. Someone hit her in the head with a wooden plank to knock her out. They picked her up just as I ran towards them, but they disappeared. Whoever that was knew what they were doing. Not only did they fool me, but I lost sight of them like an amateur.

"Alright... You may fooled me once, but you won't get me again," I whispered, "Here's where all your training needs to payoff, Priya. I need to track them down and get my girlfriend back."

I saw that Yuna dropped the P90 in the commotion. I picked it up and threw the strap over my other shoulder. I jogged further in the same direction I had pointed in and found a small hill to use as a vantage point.

One additional use the blasters have is that their scopes are very versatile. You can zoom in with them like binoculars, make them function like heat or night vision goggles. I wanted to use the heat vision mode to see if I could find any tracks that Yuna's kidnappers might have left recently.

Eventually, I found what I was looking for in the distance. A nice set of tracks. I followed it for several miles, walking silently like a how a lioness would stalk her prey. I suppose in a way I am stalking prey. But instead of eating them, I'm going to beat them up for stealing my girlfriend. Unless of course they hurt her, in which case, I'll just kill them.

"Excuse me miss, but would you mind telling me what the hell you're doing on our turf?" said a male voice with a southern drawl.

"Foxtrot, I don't think this one speaks English," said a gruff male voice, this one also had a drawl, "I reckon she's from India. You gotta speak real slow and clear so she'll understand ya."

"What...are...you...doing...here... miss?" repeated Foxtrot in a horribly condescending voice.

"I'm...looking...for...my...friend." I said, mocking him by imitating his tone of voice."

"Alright, it seems like she does speak English," said Foxtrot, "I wonder she doesn't have her whole body covered though?"

"That's not even an Indian custom!" I snapped, "Look, I'm just searching for my friend. I don't want any trouble."

"She must be looking for the one the others just brought back." muttered the gruff voiced one.

"We ain't seen her," said Foxtrot, "And if you know what's good for ya, you'll turn around and leave while you still can."

"Not gonna happen." I said.

"I just want it out there that we normally don't hit girls, but we did warn you..." said Foxtrot.

"Fine by me."

Foxtrot charged at me with a 2x4 in his hand. He swung at me, so I ducked and swept my leg into a kick. He fell to the ground and I hit him in the head with his own 2x4, knocking him out.

"Who are you?" asked the gruff voiced man, sounding impressed.

"I'm with the Militia." I said.

I swung the P90 from my shoulder into my hands and pointed it at him.

"Let's try this again," I said, "Where is my friend!?"

 **"Yuna Murphy"**

I regained consciousness after a short while. It felt like I was tied up to a wall. I couldn't see anything, but I could feel fabric over my eyes and in my mouth. They probably gagged me and covered my eyes to keep me quiet.

"Look what we have here!" said a voice.

"What do you know?" said another voice, "The trap actually worked!"

My captors removed the blindfold from my eyes.

"Nice catch," said the second voice, "She's a cute one."

"I caught her, which means I get her first!" said the first voice.

"Relax, Mozart," said the second voice, "I know the rules, you don't have to remind me."

"Look at me love," said Mozart, "Let me see those pretty eyes."

I refused to open them. I clenched them as hard as I could. Mozart snarled and slapped me across the face.

"Open your eyes!" he demanded.

He moved closer to me and I kicked him the groin. That'll make them regret not tying up my legs too.

"She's feisty!" snickered Mozart, collapsing to his knees, "Baker you can go first, that little bitch did some real damage! I'm gonna need a minute..."

Baker moved his nose right up against my skin and sniffed like a search dog while running his fingers through my hair.

"You'll find that Mozart is a bit more forgiving than me," he said, "If you hurt me, I'll use my knife during playtime instead of the usual equipment."

He held the knife in question up against my throat, I could feel the cold steel. looked at him and nodded to show I understood, since they hadn't taken the gag out yet.

"She smells like flowers!" he announced excitedly, "Mozart, when was the last time you remember seeing or smelling a flower?"

"A very long time." he said, getting to his feet.

"I'm a man of my word, Mozart," said Baker, "I said you could go first, and I meant it. Take your time with her, just don't break her. Remember I get to go aft-"

Baker didn't finish his sentence. Instead he fell to the ground. Priya was standing behind him with her combat knife clutched tightly in her hand. She knelt down and wiped Baker's blood off the blade using his shirt and then advanced on Mozart, with the knife still in her hand.

"What do you think you're doing to my girlfriend!?" she barked.

"We found her! That makes her ours!" roared Mozart.

"You can't claim human beings!" said Priya, sounding disgusted.

She turned towards me and put away her knife. She swung her blaster from over her shoulder into her hands and fired at the chains that were trapping me to the wall.

"Sorry it took so long." she said, dropping the P90 at my feet.

"I could've taken these chumps." I chuckled.

Once I was free, Priya helped me to my feet and took the gag out of my mouth before kissing me. I wasn't expecting it, so I was caught a little off guard, but it was still nice.

"You two are in love!?" gasped Mozart, "As I'm sure you two ladies know, homosexuality is a punishable sin according to the Teachings of Psion!"

"You can take your teachings and shove them up your ass!" spat Priya, "You betrayed your own kind just to save your skin. You disgust me!"

"Luckily, there is a way that I can absolve you," he said, "If I kill you with this ceremonial dagger, your soul will be spared, rather than damned."

"Shut up!" snapped Priya, hurtling her knife right into his eye.

"Wow! Nice shot." I said.

"Thanks," said Priya, "Now come on, we still have to finish the mission."

"In the name of Lord Psion, die!" roared Baker from behind Priya,

In the blink of an eye, he stabbed her right through the chest!

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" I exploded, picking up the P90 from the floor and unloading round after round right at his head. Now he was dead for sure. I could tell because his head had been basically blown clean off.

"PRIYA!" I whimpered, running over to her and squeezing her tightly.

"Are you okay?" she moaned.

"Me?" I asked, "I'm fine. Now come on, let's get you back to base. Jenna will patch you up and you'll be just fine."

"Yuna... I think you might have been right," said Priya weakly, "The world is too far gone now. The only way to really change the world would be to somehow rewrite history."

"That's a great idea baby," I said, "Make sure you tell it to Captain Bishop when you're all better!"

"I won't make it," moaned Priya, "I'll only slow you down. Just leave me here."

"No."

"Yuna."

"NO!" I sobbed.

"Yuna," said Priya, holding my face in her hands, "You're strong, remember? Strong like an amazon. You need to be brave and go on without me..."

I leaned in for one last kiss. Priya was as passionate as she could be given the current situation. We broke apart when I broke down sobbing.

"Now go, Yuna!" said Priya, "I love you so much."

Turning around and leaving was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Without Priya, I had no idea where I was going, which means there's no way for me to carry out the mission in her place.

I just kept running until I couldn't feel my feet. I have never cried so hard in my life. If I hadn't forced Priya to let me come with her, she wouldn't have needed to come a recue me, which means she would still be alive. The whole reason I wanted to come in the first place was to keep her safe.

Eventually I fell down on the ground and just let myself cry. I cried and cried and cried some more. I cried until it hurt and then kept going anyway. The tears stopped after a while, even though I think I was still crying. Is it possible to run out of tears?

Every now and then, I would whip my head around, expecting to see Priya running towards me. I could swear I kept hearing her calling out to me.

"There you are!" snarled a man with gruff voice, "Where do you think you're going!?"

"Leave me alone!" I shouted.

"This'll go easier if you don't struggle," he said, "Baker would kill me if he found out I let you get away before he had a turn with you."

"STAY AWAY!" I shouted, reaching for the P90 that was hanging at my waist from the shoulder strap. But it wasn't there. I must've left it behind!

"Hold still." said the gruff voiced man, reaching out to grab my arm.

"Don't you touch me!" I spat.

"What are you gonna do about it?" he said, "Look at you, you're defenseless!"

"Baker is dead!" I shouted, "I shot him in the head!"

"Probably shouldn't have said that." he roared, "Baker was my brother!"

"Fine then! Do your worst!" I said, standing completely still.

I don't care what he does to me. If he kills me, at least I'll get to see Priya again. There was a loud gunshot and the man fell over backwards. Someone shot him in the chest.

"Seb to base camp," said a familiar voice, "I've found Yuna. She had engaged a hostile enemy. I took him out and now she's safe... No ma'am, there's no sign of her."

I think I must have fainted from exhaustion, because the next thing I remember is waking up the next day in the infirmary. Jenna was the closest thing we had to a doctor. She probably patched me up. When she had finished, she sent in Captain Bishop, who sat down in the stool next the cot.

"Priya? Where is Priya!?" she asked sternly.

"She..." I whimpered, "She..."

I covered my mouth when I broke into tears again. I couldn't bring myself to say it. The Captain didn't need me to say it though. She already understood.

"If she was killed in action," she muttered, "Then how did you survive?"

"She made me leave her behind!" I sobbed.

"At least we didn't lose both of you." said the Captain, putting her hand on my shoulder to try and console me.

"How did you know I was out there?" I sobbed.

"We're not stupid," she said, "When I saw how full Priya's bag was, I assumed she had asked someone to come along and watch her back. But I didn't think she'd ask you. When she broke radio contact, I sent Seb out to go look for her."

"She didn't ask me..." I said, still sobbing uncontrollably, "I made her take me along! It's my fault that she's dead!"

I brushed her off and ran back to our bunk. The duffle bag with our blasters in it was sitting on the bed. Someone had already emptied it, so I started to throw some clothes and other useful things in the bag. I noticed that I was hyperventilating and had to take a moment to regain myself.

Once I had calmed down, I made sure to grab the box from the bedside table on my side of the bed. Inside was a beautiful emerald broach that Priya gave me for our anniversary. It's all I have left to remember her by.

I heard a knock on the door, which was wide open.

"Hey, I heard what happened," said Arthur, "Yuna... I'm so sorry about Priya."

"I'm leaving." I said.

"What?" he asked, "But you just got here! You haven't had any training yet!"

"This is a waste of time," I said, "Even if we were to defeat the Crusaders, the world will still be exactly the same."

"You joined us. I thought you believed in our cause." said Arthur.

"I joined because Priya was already a member when I met her and I couldn't stand not knowing whether she was dead or dying." I said.

"But where will you go?" he asked.

"Do you remember Quantex?" I asked, "Before they went bankrupt, they used to produce those time travel medallions."

"Of course."

"I think their headquarters is still more or less intact," I said, "So what if I was to go there, acquire a medallion and then tinker with it to make it send me back in time more than just a few years."

"What are you planning?"

"What if I could go back to before the Power Rangers were defeated?" I asked, more thinking out loud than actually talking to him, "I could track them down and help them. They might not even know that the Crusaders exist yet."

"You sound like you've gone completely insane." said Arthur.

"Take care of yourself, Arthur." I said, hugging him as I walked out of the room with the duffel bag clutched tightly in my hand.

I turned my back on the Militia and never saw them again. Priya's dying wish was haunting my every waking minute. She always believed in the mission, and I just followed her around. But then with her last breath, she admitted that maybe I was right. Maybe the only way to save humanity is to go back and try again.

Chloe's Apartment, Sector 15  
Metro City, Canada  
August 23rd, 2018 (Timeline B)  
2:06 AM

 **"Chloe Baldwin"**

I could hear Yuna tossing and turning on the couch in the living room. I walked over to her and gently rubbed her hair to calm her down. She opened her eyes.

"Yuna?" I asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah... I think so..." she panted, "What year is it?"

"2018, like it was yesterday and will be tomorrow." I said.

"Oh thank god..." she sighed, "So it was just a dream... A dream about my past."

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked.

"No," she said, "No, that's fine. Go back to bed."

"Alright," I said, "See you in the morning."

"Goodnight." said Yuna.

She put her head back down on the pillow and closed her eyes. We weren't officially dating yet or a couple, but we were spending a lot more time together. I feel like I already know her very well, but there is definitely something she doesn't want to share.

I just hope that she either learns how to deal with it or gets to the point where she can open up about it before it's too late. It's never a good to keep things bottled up inside you, no matter how scary they are.

If Yuna ends up buckling under pressure, she'll be useless to us as a ranger. Somehow I need to get her to open up to me...


	13. Midnight

Mega Mall Food Court, Sector 10  
Metro City, Canada  
August 27th, 2018  
12:12 PM

 **"David Sawyer"**

"You and Yuna have been spending a lot of time together lately." I said.

"Girls stick together," said Chloe, "It's instinctual, just like how boys tend to spend time with other boys."

"Even more time than you do with Rachel, your best friend." I said with a slight accusatory tone.

"If you think I'm hiding something, you're wasting your time." she said.

"Speaking of Yuna," I said, "Where did she run off to?"

Yuna scampered back over to our table and a plopped herself back down. We both gasped and chuckled. Her tray was absolutely jam packed with food from every restaurant in the court. There was Indian, Chinese, Mexican, Italian, Thai, a hot dog and two slices of pizza.

"Yuna, what did you do?" I chuckled.

"So many options, too many options," she panted, "I couldn't decide, so I figured I'd just try some of everything."

"That's enough food for three days!" sighed Chloe.

"You two can help yourselves if you want," said Yuna, who was now circling our table in the crowded mall to examine her mountain of food from as many angles as she could think of, "I think I'll start with this..."

"That's a hot dog." I said.

"What's it made of?" asked Yuna, "It smells like meat."

"Nobody really knows for sure," said Chloe, "Probably leftover meat scraps that nobody wants, but are still good to eat."

"Unless you get the fancy kind that are guaranteed to be all beef." I said.

"Yeah, but even then, it's still leftovers, they just don't mix and match different kinds of meats together," said Chloe, "Don't let that scare you though, hot dogs are tasty."

"Why are they called hot dogs?" asked Yuna, "They don't use dog meat to make them, do they?"

"No. It's just a name. It sounds better to say hot dogs than to say scraps of meat that nobody else wanted."

"Oh good." said Yuna, downing the whole hot dog in one bite.

"Where do you put all that food!?" giggled Chloe, "You're like a bottomless pit."

"I wasn't really able to indulge myself very much in my future. Food was scarce and people would literally kill each other over a decent meal," said Yuna with her mouth full, "So I guess I'm making up for 21 years of hunger."

She made a face and turned away from us to spit out what she had in her mouth into a napkin.

"Yuck!" she spat, "I don't like whatever that was."

"It's a burrito," I said, examining the part of it that was still on her tray, "But it looks like you put 3rd Degree hot sauce on it. You probably didn't realize what it was."

"It burns!" panted Yuna, fanning her hand in front of her mouth to try and cool her tongue off.

"Here sweetie, you need ice cream or milk to kill the pain," said Chloe, sliding her ice cream sundae over to Yuna's side of the table, "Water doesn't do anything."

Yuna took a bite of the ice cream and her face unclenched. She let out a sigh of relief and kept the ice cream on her tongue for a long time before swallowing.

"Thank you..." she panted.

"It's definitely an acquired taste." I said, taking the remaining half of the burrito and downing it in one bite.

Chloe and Yuna looked at me with their mouths open.

"What?" I asked.

"You just ate that whole thing in one bite and your head isn't on fire!" said Chloe, sounding genuinely impressed.

"Ellie and I used to challenge each other with stuff like that all the time when I was younger," I said, "It's nothing to me. Is there anything really sour on the tray? I can do that too if either of you can't."

Suddenly I felt lightheaded. Like I stood up too fast and the blood rushed to my head, except I was still sitting down.

Through the roof of the mall, Astrid materialized in the middle of the food court. Whether or not it was really her or some sort of hologram, I had no idea.

"Attention shoppers!" said Astrid, "In an attempt to further our efforts towards annihilating all humans from this world, we have transported this entire mall into a separate dimension that we created just for you!"

Maybe that's why I felt lightheaded. I was feeling the sensation of being pulled into a different dimension.

"What the hell is that thing?" asked someone from the crowd.

"I am the Commander of the Crusaders," said Astrid, "If it wasn't for the Power Rangers, you'd all be dead by now, so I'll forgive you for not knowing who I am."

"Did she say we're in an alternate dimension?" asked another shopper, "That's impossible. It sounds like something from a science fiction story."

"I hope you like the view. You're never leaving," said Astrid with a sick smile, "Not unless you can re-program our dimensional generators, which are not only far too advanced for your primitive race to understand, but all the data is written in languages that don't even exist in this world,"

Everyone gasped and murmured in shared confusion.

"And the best part is that we've deployed one of our agents among you, disguised as a human. Even if some of your precious Power Rangers are there with you, defeating the agent won't help. All that's left to do now if sit back and watch the fun..." cackled Astrid.

The hologram disappeared. Instantaneously everyone exploded in panic.

 **-FIVE MONTHS LATER-  
** **"David Sawyer"**

"I can't believe it's been 5 months..." I sighed.

"Didn't Astrid say there was an agent among us?" said Yuna.

"I thought so, but yet we haven't seen it anywhere."

"I guess that's good, considering that nobody here knows we're the Power Rangers." said Chloe.

"It does seem weird though..." I said, "What's the point of trapping us in this mall with an agent if the agent isn't even hostile?"

"Hey you three," said John Griffith, "Don't forget there's a book reading in the bookstore today at 2pm if you're interested."

"Thanks John." I said.

John was a preacher. He gave early morning sermons in the book store and had a lot of members from other religions that he would preach to, despite him being a catholic minister. He was a pretty nice guy, but I don't waste my time with religion. Life is short enough as it is.

In the five months since Astrid trapped us here, we've formed a makeshift community. Luckily the Mega Mall also has a grocery store, a department store and a hardware store attached to it. And in the grocery store, there's also a pharmacy.

We've nominated members to be in charge of certain things and to keep track of it all. Like we have two grocery managers, two pharmacy managers, etc. Without them, everyone would be trying to fend for themselves by hoarding food or supplies.

We know that we're not going to be able to survive forever, but the managers make sure that everyone gets enough food and that we don't use too much of it too fast. We still have power, but we don't know how long that will last because we have no way of paying any of the utility bills.

I was nominated as the manager of the electronics store, while Chloe and Yuna became the managers of the largest clothing store in the mall. It was only for women anyway. I still had suspicions that there was something going on between those two, but there were more pressing matters to deal with anyway.

"Oh my god!" came a blood curdling female scream from somewhere in the mall.

The five people that were nominated as the makeshift police jumped to their feet and ran off towards where the scream seemed to have come from. Chloe, Yuna and I followed after them instinctively.

The police ran from the food court to the north escalator. Each section of the mall has one escalator that goes up and another that goes down, as well as a set of stairs in case the escalators aren't working. They ran up the stairs and we followed them.

"Wait... Why are you following us?" asked one of them.

"We want to help." said Yuna.

"We have to find that girl first," said another officer, "We know the scream came from this floor, but not which store."

"Yuna," whispered Chloe in Yuna's ear, loudly enough that I could hear it, but not the police, "Why don't you try and use your sixth sense to see if you figure out where that scream came from?"

"It doesn't work like that," she said, "It's not something I can really control."

"How do you know?" I asked, "It can't hurt to try."

"Fine." she sighed.

Yuna closed her eyes tightly and put her hands on her forehead. Her head twitched a few times before she opened her eyes again.

"Anything?" asked Chloe.

"Yeah, but it didn't last long. The scream came from the electronics store," she said, with a surprised smile, "I didn't think anything would happen."

"Let's check the electronics store." I said.

"Why?" asked another of the officers.

"We have a hunch." said Yuna.

"That's more than what we have." said the first officer.

The eight of us jogged over to the electronics store. When we arrived, we saw something that will haunt us forever. Everyone that had been inside the store was dead, and their bodies were lying on the floor. Someone or something had mutilated them, ripping them open exactly like how a coroner cuts open the chest of a dead body to perform an autopsy.

But instead of an autopsy, it looked like someone took pieces from the bodies and used them to create a monster, which was at least 7' tall! There was also two people that still seemed to be alive, except their eyes were white and foggy.

"Zombies?" I asked, blurting out the word even though I didn't intend to say it out loud.

"What's a zombie?" asked Yuna.

"A dead body brought back to life," said Chloe, "In the movies, they hunger for human flesh, and if one bites you, you'll turn into a zombie too."

"How do we stop them?" asked Yuna.

"Well, in the movies," I said, "They aim for the head. But those are just movies."

"What about that other thing?" asked Yuna.

"I don't know, but it smells like death," moaned Chloe, "I don't know how much longer I can stand it."

The large monster flexed its back and sent what looked like bone skewers flying at the officers. The skewers honed in on their movement and followed them like seeker missiles as they tried to run away. After attacking, the monster disappeared.

Two of the officers were killed when they were impaled by the bones. Then the zombies charged towards the rest of the officers. One of the zombies took a blow to the head with a baseball bat that we armed the officers with from the sporting goods store. But the other zombie was too fast and bit one of the officers in the neck.

"NO!" I shouted, running forwards to try and help, "Purple Ranger! CYBER POWER!"

Now transformed into my ranger outfit, I delivered a quick uppercut to the zombie to separate her from the officer.

"She got me," he gasped, clutching at his neck, "Kill me quick before I turn!"

"Sawyer!? You're a Power Ranger?" asked another of the officers after getting to his feet from bludgeoning the downed zombie.

"I'm not going to kill you," I said, "We don't know for sure that these zombies can turn people by biting them."

"But there's a chance that I might." he gasped, trying to reach for a baseball bat from his fallen comrade.

"No," I said, slapping his hand, "Let's just wait this out."

I stood up and stepped back from him.

"Power down," I said, "Let's have our doctor patch you up. If you do turn, then I'll come and put you down. But only if you do turn."

"Those poor officers." sobbed Yuna.

"They knew the risks when they accepted the job," said Chloe, "We'll have to cremate them since there's no way we can bury them."

Later that day, after the officers' memorial services, we built two funeral pyres and burned them outside in the small part of the parking lot that we could still access. Beyond that, there was just an empty void.

Chloe, Yuna and I were sitting in the food court again, sharing a bowl of nachos to try and take our minds off the gruesome sight from earlier.

There was a loud ripping sound and a dark skinned hand reached out of thin air. It looked like it had punched through an invisible wall. When the hand pulled the rest of its body through the hole, it stretched so he could fit.

The hand belonged to a man. He was muscular and athletic, but looked wise and book smart and the same time. He had two small horns on his forehead and very dark hair that was in a brush cut.

"You three," said a slow gentle voice, "My name is Ezekiel. When Riley had amnesia, I am the one who helped him remember. We have not met, but I seek the destruction of the Crusaders."

I noticed that when the man spoke, his mouth didn't move. That's when I noticed that he didn't have a mouth. That would explain why it didn't move.

"Ezekiel is a bit of a mouthful," said Chloe, "How about we call you Zeke as a nickname?"

"Nickname?" asked Zeke.

"A name that people can use to refer to you that isn't your real name," I said, "For example, my real name is David Sawyer, but I prefer it when people use just my last name."

"We don't have that custom on my world," said Zeke, "But Zeke is fine. Ezekiel isn't technically my name is anyway. It's more of a rough translation of what my name is in my native tongue."

"Your world?" asked Chloe.

"I imagine you know that the Crusaders are not aliens. They're demons from a different dimension." said Zeke.

"How are you talking without a mouth?" asked Yuna.

"I'm psychic and telepathic," said Zeke, "I was getting to that."

"Sorry."

"I'm from a parallel dimension, which means I share the same planet as you, but the world is completely different," said Zeke, "That's how I'm able to come and go so easily, I only have to break through one interdimensional barrier."

"And you said you want to destroy the Crusaders too?" I asked.

"The Crusaders destroyed my home and murdered every single inhabitant. I only survived because I was away on a business trip." said Zeke, whose voice quivered.

Even though he didn't have a mouth, he could still make the same sounds as we could using his mind,

"My wife... My parents... My brothers and sisters... All dead. Slaughtered by the Crusaders." sobbed Zeke.

"Zeke, that's awful. I'm so sorry." said Chloe.

"Yes, I know. I'm telepathic, remember?" said Zeke.

"How did you find us here?" I asked, "I thought Astrid said that nobody would ever find us in this dimension?"

"Yes, but she neglected to mention that all of the Crusader's technology is actually stolen from the worlds and species that they've destroyed," said Zeke, "As it turns out, the dimensional separator is not just an invention from my world, but I invented it personally."

"And the Crusaders never thought about that?" asked Chloe.

"They don't know I'm still alive," said Zeke, "Since I wasn't there, they just assumed they wiped out the entire world. We're not an aggressive species, we didn't even have any weapons to fight back."

"So what brings you here?" I asked.

"I wanted to see how things are going. How long have you been here?"

"Five months." I said.

"That's the equivalent of five minutes on your home dimension," said Zeke, "Time moves much more quickly here. In fact, each dimension has its own unique rate. I know a lot of them because I did extensive research on the dynamics of dimensions for my research."

"Which means the others don't even know we're missing." said Chloe.

"Even if they did, they have no way of accessing this dimension." said Zeke.

"So the Crusaders' plan isn't flawed, they just don't know you're alive," I said, "Call me crazy, but I think they're learning."

"Or at least Astrid is." said Chloe.

"They don't call her commander for nothing." said Yuna.

"Astrid?" asked Zeke, "Who is Astrid?"

"She's in charge of the Crusaders," I said, "We've fought her before. She's insanely powerful."

"I think she's a new addition then," said Zeke, "I wasn't there when they destroyed my world, but I did manage to salvage some security footage, and there was no commander leading the troops."

"She was there in 2041 when the Crusaders destroyed the Power Rangers." said Yuna.

"Yes, but that's 23 years from now in a completely separate timeline." I said.

"Sawyer?" said one of the doctors, tapping me on the shoulder, "Officer Jessop is awake. He wants to talk to you."

"Hold that thought." I said.

"No way," said Chloe, "We're coming with you."

The doctor led us to the west wing of the mall, which had been transformed into a hospital. We were lucky that among the shoppers in the mall, there were actually quite a few doctors, surgeons and nurses.

"I wasn't expecting four people..." sighed Jessop, "What exactly is that thing following you?"

"Him?" I asked, "That's Zeke, our new friend."

"Is he some sort of alien?"

"No," said Zeke, "But I am from another dimension."

"What!?" snarled Jessop.

"He doesn't trust me. He thinks I'm in league with the Crusaders." said Zeke, revealing Jessop's thoughts to us.

"Am I wrong?" he snapped.

"Yes, completely," said Chloe, "Zeke might not be from our world, but he's one of us. The Crusaders destroyed his home and everyone he ever cared about."

"So not all demons are evil?" asked Jessop.

"Demon is an inaccurate term," said Zeke, "The Crusaders call themselves demons to strike fear. But they're actually 'dimens', a term meaning from a different dimension, just like how aliens are from a different planet."

"You're not talking with your mouth, but I can still hear you." said Jessop.

"My people are psychic. We don't have mouths, instead we implant our thoughts in each other's brains to communicate." said Zeke.

"Huh. That actually sounds pretty neat." said Jessop.

"So what did you want to tell me?" I asked.

"Oh, I just wanted to thank you for stopping me," said Jessop, "It's been several hours, but I haven't had any flesh cravings. If it wasn't for you, I'd have unnecessarily killed myself."

"You're welcome." I said.

"You should try and get some more rest," said Chloe, "We'll leave you to it."

We went back to our table in the food court. And to our horror, we saw that John was standing on one of the round tables. An enormous crowd of people had gathered around to listen to him. I saw that he had a megaphone clutched in his hand.

"Have you forgotten what Astrid said when she first trapped us here!?" shouted John into my megaphone, "There's a monster among us that's just waiting to strike!"

He had certainly stepped things up. This was much more than his usual quiet sermons in the book store.

"Who can we trust if the person standing right beside could be that monster in disguise!?" he continued, "For all we know that monster has already killed some of us! It might even have been the one responsible for the death of those two officers today!"

"Is he insane?" snapped Chloe, "He'll start a riot!"

"Maybe that's what he's trying to do?" asked Yuna, "I mean, we don't know who the agent is either. Maybe if they band together they'll lure him out so that we'll know who it is."

"What are these agents?" asked Zeke.

"They're soldiers of the Crusader army," I said, "The army is made of dimens from thousands of other dimensions. Rather than send the entire army at once, Astrid has decided to send individual soldiers down to Earth to see how we react to various situations."

"She's testing you?" asked Zeke.

"I guess," said Chloe, "We don't really know why she does it. But over time, their plans have been getting more and more elaborate."

"I think it's because she wants to destroy us all in one fell swoop, rather than declare war against us and risk losing half her army," said Yuna, "Which sounds like what they did to your planet, Zeke."

"Yes, except we couldn't fight back."

"Wait a minute!" I exclaimed.

Everyone turned to look at me.

"I think I get it," I said, "Zeke, your world must have been one of the first that the Crusaders destroyed. Although they were successful, maybe whoever is really in charge of the Crusaders realized that they only won because the inhabitants were pacifists?"

"So then they bring in Astrid to command the troops and try different ways of destroying worlds instead of just by brute force and sheer numbers," I continued, "That way, even if they target a world that is much more advanced, they can still eventually destroy it."

"I think he's on to something," said Yuna, "And it also feeds directly into my original theory. We don't have to defeat the entire Crusader army, we just have to defeat Astrid."

"Easier said than done." said Chloe.

"She must have some sort of weakness," said Yuna, "We just have to figure out what it is."

"The Power of Christ will help us determine who among us is the monster!" shouted John.

"Let's go somewhere else," I said, "I can't stand that guy."

We got up to try and leave.

"Running away!?" shouted John, "Are you afraid Christ will out one of you as the monster!? Get them!"

Chloe was right. He did start a riot. But she was wrong about what he wanted to use it for.

"Back off!" I shouted.

"If you're not the monster then you've got nothing to fear!" shouted John.

Almost as if it was triggered by the words, the monster composed of human flesh, blood and bone reappeared in the middle of the food court.

"The Lord has shown us that Sawyer and his friends are indeed the ones controlling the monster! And now they've summoned it to attack us!" roared John.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Ready!" said Chloe and Yuna.

"Purple Ranger! CYBER POWER!" I shouted.

"Green Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Yuna.

"Orange Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Chloe.

After we had morphed. Zeke said something that took us all by surprise.

"This message is only for you three. Nobody else can hear it," he said, "I have to go. There's something very important that I have to do. Good luck."

We weren't able to see him leave because we had the monster to deal with. It flexed its back again and fired a bunch of bone skewers at us, but we had seen the attack before and knew how to dodge it.

The crowd that had started advancing on us was now backing away, probably because they weren't sure what to make of this situation. John had been telling them that we summoned the monster, but now we were fighting it.

"That monster is so strong that they've lost control of it!" shouted John.

The crowd seem satisfied with that answer, but still stayed back to watch the battle.

"Download weapon!" we called in unison.

My scythe, Orange's flail and Green's shotgun materialized in front of our hands and we took them.

"Let's how it likes my air buckshot!" called Green, "Wind."

She loaded he shotgun with bullets made of synthetic wind and pumped it, she aimed it at the monster and waited.

"Try getting closer!" shouted one of the people in the crowd.

She carefully stepped forward and aimed at the monster's chest. Orange and I kept it distracted so that Green could get a nice clean shot.

"Take this you big cootie!" she jeered, pulling the trigger.

The buckshot had very little effect.

"Green, try your regular buckshot!" I called, "This thing might be too tough for the wind bullets!"

While still keeping the monster distracted, I saw Green load the regular buckshot bullet back into her shotgun and pump it again.

She didn't wait this time. She took aim momentarily and then fired. This time the pellets did some damage. They punctured through the skin and caused the monster to roar in pain.

I noticed that out of the corner of my eye, John clutched at his chest at the same spot where Green had hit the monster.

"My heart aches from all the treachery in this mall!" he called, playing it off as though he did it on purpose.

I raised my scythe, ready to slice open the monster's stomach, just as it disappeared again.

"Damn..." I muttered.

"Power down." the three of us said together.

There was a familiar loud ripping sound and Zeke's hand reached out of thin air. After he pulled himself the rest of the way through, he went over to a table in the coffee shop across from the food court.

"The monster is gone! But for how long!?" asked John to the crowd.

We walked over to the coffee shop and joined Zeke at the table he had sat down at.

"If you're on our side, why is this the first time we've seen you?" asked Yuna, "You never appeared in person to Riley?"

"The air on your world is almost the same as on mine, except yours is mostly nitrogen, whereas yours is mostly krypton," said Zeke, "So it's very hard for me to breathe. That's why I've been working on a device that will filter the nitrogen out and replace it with krypton."

"But you can breathe here, can't you? Isn't the air in this isolated dimension the same as on our world?" asked Chloe.

"Yes, because the prototype is working," said Zeke, "It's an implant that goes inside my throat, which is why you can't see it."

"How old are you?" asked Yuna.

"My people don't have ages," said Zeke, "Old age is not something we can die from. But there's still injury or disease. If you want a rough estimate, I would be approximately 261,690 days."

I took a moment to do the math, making sure to incorporate upcoming leap years.

"That's like 715 years old!" I gasped.

"The oldest one of us on record lived 112 times longer than that before he died from Halcyon's Disease." said Zeke.

John walked over to us in the coffee shop after the crowd he amassed had subdued.

"Hey Sawyer, no hard feelings I hope? I'm just trying to motivate the people to take action against the monster." he said as he came over to me.

"It sounded to me like you were trying to turn them against us." I said.

"No... You've got it all wrong," said John, "Ah, I see your trio is now a quadrio. Who's your friend?"

"I think the word you're looking for is 'quartet'." I said.

Zeke frowned after staring at John for a few seconds.

"You," he said, pointing at John, "You're the agent!"

John's smile turned wicked.

"Took you long enough," he sneered, "I was starting to get bored."

"You feed on fear and paranoia to power your necromancy!" shouted Zeke.

"Necromancy?" asked Yuna.

"A sinister form of black magic," said Zeke, "They have power over the dead and can manipulate corpses for all kinds of nefarious purposes."

"Those zombies in the electronics store, it was you all along!" I snapped.

"And the golem, don't forget the golem, that was all me too!" cackled John, "I thought for sure you'd sniff me out when you noticed that I share the golem's pain."

"That's why he was trying to start a riot!" gasped Chloe, "You feed on their anxiety. And of course if you're the one leading the riot, nobody will ever suspect that you're behind everything!"

"I think I've finally got enough power to merge with my beautiful golem and become even more powerful!" cheered John.

He snapped his fingers and the golem reappeared. Any damage that the buckshot had done was now completely healed. John held out his arms and the golem's chest started to bubble. I ran forwards to try and stop him, but Zeke put his hand in front of me.

John jumped backwards inside the golem's stomach and the skin closed over top of him, leaving just his pale face visible on the chest.

"The Crusaders shall rain supreme!" he shouted.

"Zeke? Why did you stop me!?" I snapped.

"He's too strong right now," said Zeke, "Let me weaken him first."

I saw that Zeke now had a golden trident in his hand. It was long and elegant.

"Noiro, God of Darkness! Answer my call and grant me your power!" shouted Zeke.

A spotlight appeared above his head, but instead of a beam of light, it seemed to be a beam of shadow.

"UNLEASH THE MIGHT!" shouted Zeke. A bolt of dark lightning came down and struck him.

Zeke threw his trident high above his head and when it came back down, he caught it. There was a flash of black smoke. After it subsided, I could see that Zeke was wearing a ranger outfit. It was a very dark shade of blue that was almost black.

"Midnight Ranger!" announced Zeke.

Although he was a Power Ranger, his suit looked nothing like ours, which if I'm remembering properly, means that his powers come from a different source than ours. Which, since he didn't have a codec, made sense.

Our suits have a binary code design with white numbers and highlights. But The Midnight Ranger's suit looked like the pictures I remember seeing of the Magna Defender from the Lost Galaxy comics, only instead of gold highlights, there glowing blue highlights. On the mask, the visor was tinted blue and resembled the lenses from ski goggles. The helmet also had sinister horns that pointed forward like those of a bull and even a majestic black cape.

"WHAT!? A BLACK RANGER!?" roared Astrid's voice, "THERE'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE A BLACK RANGER!"

"Zeke?" I asked, "You're a Power Ranger?"

"Only recently," he said, "On my home dimension before the Crusaders destroyed it, there was an order of warriors that would defend us from threats that no one else could. Each member would be chosen by one of our Gods to be their champion. My older brother was the Warrior of Darkness. When I saw the golem, I decided to go and take the trident from his grave to inherit his powers."

"So that's where you went?" asked Yuna.

"Yes." said Midnight.

"Why did you say Midnight Ranger instead of Warrior of Darkness?" asked Chloe.

"Given the situation, I thought it would be more appropriate to use a different name." said Midnight, "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to project my voice even louder to help calm these people down. The agent has been feeding on all their fear and paranoia for months."

"Can I have everyone's attention please!?" he announced to the mall at large, "John Griffith is the agent Astrid mentioned. He has now merged with the monster he was trying to convince you the Power Rangers were responsible for. I need you all to calm down and trust us, because it's your fear and paranoia that made him so strong!"

"That bastard! He had us all fooled!" shouted one of the members of the former riot.

"He's been subtly instilling fear in us for months with his stupid sermons!" shouted another member.

"Go kick his ass, Rangers!" they all shouted together.

"What's happening!?" roared John, "I-I-I f-feel w-w-w-w-weak..."

"We just told everyone that you were the agent all along," I said, "Now they've turned on you and you have no more anxiety to feed on."

"Midnight, why don't you do the honours?" asked Yuna.

"Even if you k-k-kill me, you'll s-still be t-t-trapped in the p-p-p-private d-d-dimension." whimpered John.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." said Midnight.

He twirled his trident in his hands over and over again until it turned black. Then he jumped high into the air and stayed suspended.

"Midnight Ranger! FINAL ATTACK!" shouted Midnight.

The trident launched seven other shadow tridents that each impaled the golem. Midnight touched back down and his trident returned to normal. With one last glance over his shoulder, Midnight snapped his fingers and the tridents exploded.

"I die for the Crusaders!" sputtered John.

There was nothing left when the explosion faded down. No remains, no body, nothing.

"He has been claimed by the shadows." said Midnight.

"He's their problem now." I said.

"I relinquish the might." said Zeke, reverting back to civilian form.

"That was so awesome!" said Chloe excitedly.

"So does this mean you're part of the team?" I asked.

"Yes and no," said Zeke, "If you need me, I'll know. But I'm not moving in to your base of operations or anything."

"What you said before you destroyed him," said Yuna, "That means you can undo what they did to us, right?"

"Indeed I can." said Zeke.

Later that day, Zeke helped us gather everyone that was originally in the mall into the food court.

"Alright, now I need all of you to sit still," he announced to everyone, "I'm going to try and send us back to our original dimension."

He left us there and then came back after a few minutes with four small devices that looked like miniature jukeboxes. Each one had a glowing ring on it of a different colour.

"These are the generators that have been powering this dimension," announced Zeke, "After I destroy them, the signal should short out and we'll get sent back to where we were as if nothing happened. It'll be five minutes later, not five months."

Zeke made his way up to the third floor of the mall with all four generators in tow. Then one by one, he hurled them off the walkway and we got to watch as each one shattered into several pieces.

With each generator, the empty void beyond the windows seemed to gradually fade away, until it disappeared completely.

"I think that did it!" exclaimed Officer Jessop.

The doors of the mall were pulled open and a mob of people entered. In the distance, I could see Riley, Rachel, Oz, Silver, Jenna and Michelle. I ran over to her excitedly and picked her up for a long passionate kiss.

"What's gotten into you?" she asked, blushing, "We just saw each other yesterday."

"Do I need a reason?" I asked with a smile.

"I guess not." she said.

"You're Silver, correct?" announced Zeke to the group, "My name translated into your language is Ezekiel, but lately I've been going by Zeke for short."

"You're Ezekiel!?" sputtered Riley coming over to him.

"It is good to finally meet you in person." said Zeke.

"Who exactly are you?" asked Silver.

"An ally of the Power Rangers, if you'll have me," said Zeke, "I have my own unique ranger powers. The Crusaders destroyed my world and slaughtered my entire family."

"That's exactly why we need to stop them." said Silver, holding out his hand for Zeke to shake.

"Sawyer, Chloe and Yuna know how to contact me," said Zeke, "I wish I could stay, but I have to go home and put the finishing touches on my implant. After that, I should be able to breathe much easier here."

"Alright," said Silver, "If the rangers trust you, that's enough for me."

"By the way, Chloe, is the fact that you and Yuna are dating supposed to be a secret?" asked Zeke.

Everyone whipped around to look at Chloe.

"Zeke!" moaned Chloe angrily.

"I'm so sorry!" he gasped, "I only meant for you to hear that! Something might be wrong with my powers... It could be overuse. Maybe I'll just go deal with that."

Zeke left by ripping a hole into another invisible wall and stepped through it. This was the first time I actually saw him to do it, but I was more focused on Chloe, who looked she wanted to melt in the floor.

"Chloe!?" snapped Rachel, "Is what he said true?"


	14. Earshot

Chloe's Apartment, Sector 15  
Metro City, Canada  
August 28th, 2018  
10:02 AM

 **"Chloe Baldwin"**

I was sobbing into Yuna's arms. She was consoling me by rubbing my back and shushing me. Rachel and I had a massive blowout and I don't even understand why. I know it had something to do with me dating Yuna, but she wouldn't go into more details than that.

"You weren't there!" I sobbed, "The things she said!"

"Did you do anything that would have set off?" asked Yuna.

"No... At least not intentionally," I hiccuped, "I mean, we're best friends. I would never do anything like that to her. But the words she used. It's almost as if she thinks I did this just to spite her."

"And by 'this' you mean...?" asked Yuna.

"Dating you," I sniffled, "People can't control who they have feelings for."

"You have feelings for me?" asked Yuna.

"Well duh," I said, "We wouldn't be dating if I didn't. Our relationship would have began and ended with that kiss at Mega Burger."

"Good times," said Yuna, "Okay, I hate seeing you like this. What can we do to take your mind off this fight?"

I sat bolt upright and winked at her.

"We could always go fool around in the bedroom," I said, "But I've never actually done anything like that with another girl before."

"I have," said Yuna, leaning in for a kiss, "I think I can show you a thing or two."

That led to some of the best sex I've ever had. But I won't get into the intimate details. After it was over, we just stayed in bed cuddling.

"Wow," I gasped, "Seems to me like you know more than just a thing or two."

"I didn't want to sound like I was bragging." said Yuna.

"Well, take it from me," I said, "You've got every right to brag."

"If you want to give credit to someone, you should really give it to Priya, my last girlfriend," said Yuna, "She taught me everything I know. Well, not literally everything, but I mean the bedroom stuff."

"You never mentioned her before." I said.

"Yeah, because I'm still in the closet," said Yuna, "And also because she died. She died because of what she was. In fact, it was her death that inspired me to go back in time."

"And now, with your help, we can beat the Crusaders." I said.

"Let's change the subject," said Yuna, "I want to know exactly what Rachel said."

"That's the thing..." I said, "She never specifically said WHY she had a problem with us dating. But I've never seen her so angry before."

"It's almost like she knows something that we don't," said Yuna, "Huh... It's a shame we don't know someone that can read minds."

"That is diabolical... I like it." I said.

We concentrated our thoughts on Zeke. He said that in order to contact him, we just needed to think about him.

"Wait," said Yuna, "Maybe we should get dressed first."

"Good idea." I said.

Now with clothes on, we combined our thoughts on Zeke. A few seconds later, Zeke appeared by punching through the barrier like he usually does.

"Hello ladies." he said.

"Hi Zeke, we've got a favour to ask of you." I said.

"You want me to use my psychic powers to read Rachel's mind and learn why she's so angry about you and Yuna dating." he said.

"Uh, yes," I said, "Can you like, turn that off?"

"No," said Zeke, "But I don't really have to say what you're thinking out loud. It's a habit I got into because that's how conversation worked on my world."

"I wish I could've seen this world of yours. It sounds interesting." said Yuna.

"I'll do it," said Zeke, "But just remember that there might be a very good reason why she kept it from you. Depending on what I find out, I'll double check with you before I tell you anything."

"Sounds good. Thank you." I said.

 **"Ezekiel"**

After finding a disguise for me to wear in public, I decided to try and experience a little bit of what living in this world would be like, so I took public transit to get to Silver's Mansion.

"Well, this is our base of operations." said Silver.

"Rather primitive compared to my world," I said, "What's this?"

I was holding a rectangular device with various letters on it.

"That's a keyboard," said Silver, "They didn't have those on your world?"

"Sort of," I said, "But they were laser projections that you can interact with."

Riley and Rachel came down the stairs into headquarters. I stared at Rachel for a moment and then blinked quickly when I heard the secret that was trying to hide: Yuna is Rachel's future daughter!

Now the fight between Chloe and Rachel makes so much more sense. Rachel is the only one that knows that Yuna is her daughter. Yuna doesn't even know. But Chloe doesn't know that Rachel knows that Yuna is her daughter.

"Rachel?" I asked, "Can I talk to you privately?"

"I don't know. Can you?" she asked.

"Yes, I can," I said, "Come on, let's go outside."

I led her back up the stairs and outside onto Silver's front lawn.

"Yuna is your daughter?" I whispered.

She looked offended.

"You read my mind!?" she snapped.

"I can't help it," I said, "It's not something I can turn off."

"Chloe put you up to this, didn't she?" asked Rachel.

"I'm not even from this world and I know that it's wrong of you to be angry at Chloe for something she's clueless about," I said, "I also know that those two love each other."

"They love each other?" asked Rachel, "I thought she was hooking up with her and using her."

"I heard their thoughts, but I don't think they've admitted it to each other yet." I said.

"But if they sent you to read my mind, then how do I know that they're really in love? Maybe they just told you to tell me that." said Rachel.

"You're over thinking it," I said, "Chloe didn't mean any harm. So why don't you just apologize to her?"

"I'll think about it," said Rachel, "The fact that they might be in love doesn't change the fact that Chloe is dating my future daughter!"

"She doesn't know that." I said.

"You can't tell her!" said Rachel, grabbing my hand and squeezing it tightly, "I haven't even told Riley because I'm afraid that if I say something it'll change the future. I don't know how time travel works, but I want to go on to be her mother and I don't want her to disappear! We need her to defeat the Crusaders and rewrite history."

She cupped her hand over her mouth and started sobbing silently.

"Human emotions are very complicated." I said, putting my hand on her shoulder.

"Please Zeke, don't tell them!" she weeped, "I'll apologize to Chloe the next time I see her, but please don't tell her anything!"

"Since Chloe is going to ask," I said, "What do I say to her?"

"Tell her that you didn't get anything off me." said Rachel.

"I don't think she'll believe me," I said, "She's seen my psychic powers first hand."

"I'll tell her myself eventually," said Rachel, "But for now, please help me keep this secret."

"Alright." I said.

Three quick beeps chirped from the device on Rachel's wrist.

"Silver? What's up?" said Rachel

"There's an agent attacking Sector 1," came Silver's voice, "Take Zeke with you and meet up with the others."

"Will do." she said.

"I guess talking to Chloe and Yuna will have to wait." I said.

 **"Chloe Baldwin"**

"I wonder if Zeke will fight with us this time." I thought aloud.

"Not that we can't handle things without him," said Yuna, "But it is pretty fascinating to see him in action. It's like watching a sports game."

"How so?" I asked.

"Well, both teams are playing the same game, but they each have different tactics, methods and players." she said.

"Oh I get you," I said, "Because Zeke's powers come from a different source than ours."

"Yeah." she said.

Streaks of red, blue, yellow and purple binary flew down from the sky and landed in front of us.

"How appropriate," said Oz, "The ladies were here first."

"Well except for me." said Rachel.

"Must you analyze everything I say?" sighed Oz.

"No, but I gotta have some fun." said Rachel.

Even though I hadn't heard back from Zeke, I can only assume that he at least talked to Rachel. So I figured I'd test the theory.

"Hello Rachel." I said.

"Chloe," she began, "I'm so-"

She couldn't finish her sentence. A metal shopping cart came out of nowhere and hit her in the chest. Rachel fell over and was sent flying back a few feet.

"You okay!?" I called.

"I'm good!" she said, getting to her feet, "But where did that come from?"

"Huh..." said Riley, pointing to something a few blocks away, "There's something you don't see every day."

We all looked in the direction of his finger and saw that a large tornado was spiraling around and around the center of Sector 1. But there was something unique about the tornado. Instead of being made from wind, it looked like it was made from a sort of strange energy.

There was a familiar loud ripping sound and Zeke's hand reached out of thin air. After he pulled himself the rest of the way through, noticed that we were staring at something in the distance and came over to us.

"This is familiar power..." he muttered.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"My telepathy is just one of the many psychic powers my people are born with," said Zeke, "Some of us are content with just telepathy, but others have trained themselves to move objects with their minds or create a zone of psychic energy."

"So whatever is making that tornado is from your world?" asked Riley.

"It certainly seems that way." said Zeke.

"I thought you said you were the sole survivor?" asked Oz.

"I was wrong." said Zeke.

"In my future, the Crusaders would sometimes give people a choice. Convert to their religion and live or refuse and die," said Yuna, "Could some of your people maybe have been given the same choice?"

"It's possible," said Zeke, "I can't think of anything else that could conjure a tornado like this."

"So how we past the tornado?" asked Oz.

"I'm hoping that I can break it down with my own psychic powers." said Zeke.

"But you never trained your powers beyond what you were born with, did you?" asked Yuna.

"That doesn't mean I can't do it." said Zeke.

"What do you need us to do?" asked Riley.

"Just cover me," said Zeke, "I don't know even know if this is going to work."

Suddenly the tornado threw a dozen Creepers down in front of us. The kept making that gross squelching sound with every movement as they advanced on us.

"Ready?" asked Riley.

"READY!" we called in unison.

"RED RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Riley.

"BLUE RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Rachel.

"YELLOW RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Oz.

"GREEN RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Yuna.

"ORANGE RANGER! CYBER POWER!" I shouted.

"PURPLE RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Sawyer.

In a flurry of binary, our ranger suits materialized on our bodies. The Creepers were still advancing on us, but we were ready for them.

"Download weapon!" we called together, holding out our arms.

My axe appeared in my outstretched hand and took a firm grip on the handle. Red's katana appeared in his hand, Blue's ring blade appeared in her hand, Yellow's shield appeared in his hand, Green's shotgun appeared in her hand and Purple's scythe appeared in his hand.

The Creepers were still running right at us. I'm not sure if they really have brains, but if they do, they must be really small, because Trojan's replicators were much more strategical. The one closest to me stretched its powdery blue arms towards me and I chopped them clean off with my axe effortlessly. More and more of them were still being tossed out of the tornado.

"This seems too easy." I said.

"Nice one, Orange," said Yellow, "Now you've jinxed us."

"As if," I snapped, decapitating the Creeper whose arms I had sliced off, "If they step up their game now, you don't get to pin it on me!"

"Zeke? How's it going?" asked Blue.

"Hold them off a little longer!" he panted, "I've almost broken through!"

Creeper after Creeper got sent flying out of the cyclone towards us, but most of them got massacred before they even touched the ground. I was confused as to why whoever or whatever was causing this hadn't changed tactics yet.

"A little more!" groaned Zeke.

The flow of Creepers had stopped. We all turned back towards the tornado without letting our guards down. In the blink of an eye, there was a huge flash and a wave of psychic energy, identical to the tornado flew towards me.

"LOOK OUT!" shrieked Blue.

She lunged at me and tackled to the ground. The wave of energy reverted her to civilian form and knocked her back a good 50 feet, where she hit the ground and lay motionless.

"Rachel!" yelped Red, running over to her and picking her up.

He came back to join us and was cradling his fiancée in his arms.

"She's alive," he said, "Just unconscious."

"What the hell was that?" asked Yellow.

"It looked like some sort of spike," said Purple, "Maybe because of what Zeke is trying to do?"

"I'VE GOT IT!" said Zeke triumphantly. He looked down a noticed that a trickle of blood had come from one of his nostrils. But instead of red, his blood was white and looked exactly like milk.

"Zeke?" I asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'll be fine," he said, "Just a side effect of overdoing it a little."

"What do we do now?" asked Green.

"Finish off the agent, of course." said Red.

"You'll find him in the middle of the tornado," said Zeke, "I shattered the barrier, so you can pass through it now. I'm staying here for a minute... I need to regain myself."

"Let's go," said Yellow, cracking his knuckles, "I want a piece of this mind freak."

He ran forward with his shield clutched tightly in his hand, leading the charge.

"Impossible!" came a quivering voice that echoed through my mind, exactly like how Zeke communicates with us telepathically, "None of the rangers are from my world. There's no way one of them broke through my barrier!"

"Rangers!" came Silver's voice, "I think it's time we retire the old VR. Besides, we're not fighting viruses anymore anyways."

"Instead, we've reconfigured the VR's code and implanted it into each of your weapons, including the alternate ones," said Jenna, "Long story short, all of your weapons can function like the old VR."

"Yeah, except this way it'll be twice as strong, since each of you have two different weapons now instead of just one," said Silver, "Try it out."

"You heard the man," said Purple, "Orange, let's try using your axe."

"How can we use my axe as a crossbow thingy?" I asked.

"You don't," said Silver, "With melee weapons, you charge them up like normal, but then instead of shooting it, you slam it down to generate a massive shock wave."

"Sounds cool," I said, "Let's go for it. Without his psychic powers, that agent is helpless."

"CYBER AXE! ULTIMATE UPGRADE!" I announced,

I put both hands on my axe and I felt the familiar sensation as my other weapon reconfigured itself into data which was then absorbed by my axe. Purple came over and put his hands on my shoulder and I saw two streams of purple binary get absorbed by my axe. This went on until all five of us were standing in a "V" formation, with our hands on each other's shoulders.

"FULLY CHARGED!" we shouted in unison.

"Five…" said Yellow.

"Four…" said Purple.

"Three…" said Red.

"Two…" said Green.

"One…" I said.

"ATTACK!" we shouted together.

The axe was at least 7 feet long now. It grew bigger and bigger with each new weapon it absorbed during the charging process.

The others were holding on to me, helping me to keep my balance as I slammed the axe down as hard as I could. An enormous beam of rainbow binary erupted from the impact site. The agent was still too weak to avoid the attack and took a direct hit.

Immediately after the agent took the attack, the tornado transformed into an orb of energy which then disappeared. I turned to Green to give her the thumbs up and felt something go through me. It left me with a strange tingling sensation.

"That was awesome…" said Yellow.

"The coast is clear." said Red.

"Power down." we said together.

Now back in our civilian attire, we huddled together.

"I know she's probably fine," said Riley, "But I want to take Rachel to the hospital just in case."

"Okay, we'll report back to Silver," said Oz, "Maybe we'll come visit her a bit later."

"After you go to the Spearmint Hippo?" I asked.

"How did you know that's where I was going?" asked Oz, his eyes wide.

"Because you just told me." I said.

"No, I didn't," said Oz, "But I was thinking it."

"I could have sworn I heard you say it." I said.

"When I get Chloe home, I'm going to take off all her clothes with my teeth and slather cool whip over every inch of her body." said Yuna.

"Yuna! Save that kind of talk for the bedroom…" I gasped.

"Save what talk?" she asked, "I didn't say anything."

"You just said that you wanted to… Slather me with cool whip." I said, my voice growing quieter and quieter until it was even less than a whisper.

"Not out loud," said Yuna, "Are you feeling okay?"

I clutched at my head, the world around me has started spinning and my head felt it was about to split in two.

"I heard you say it." I moaned.

I collapsed to the ground. I was probably unconscious, but for some reason, I heard even more voices now. But I couldn't pick out individual speakers through the chatter.

"What's wrong with her?"

"She's very pale."

"Is this a side effect of the new Ultimate Upgrade?"

"I guess we should take her to the hospital too."

"Chloe!? Speak to me, baby."

Those were just some of the voices I heard. Based on the voices I could hear, I could tell where we were in relation to the hospital. By now it seemed like we were on the overpass, heading for H.E.A.L.T.H.

There are other hospitals in Metro City, but H.E.A.L.T.H is the best one. It has more doctors, more nurses, more specialists, as well as two separate emergency rooms. It's also where Michelle works as an emergency medical doctor.

The next thing I remember is waking up in a hospital bed. The pounding in my head and loud noises had stopped now. Everyone was here, even Silver and Jenna.

"Am I in the hospital?" I asked, weakly.

"No, Chloe, WE'RE in the hospital." said Rachel.

I turned my head to the side. She was in the bed on my right. We were sharing the same two-person room.

"Rachel?" I asked.

"Yup." she said.

"What happened to you?" I asked, "I can't remember…"

"She hit her head and got a mild concussion," said Michelle, "She got lucky. She should make a full recovery, but we're keeping her here for a while just in case."

Michelle was decked out in her long white coat and a pair of hot pink scrubs. She had a clipboard and was biting her lip anxiously.

"And me?" I asked.

I asked the question, but before Michelle could answer, I heard her voice as if she was talking, even though her lips never moved.

"I've got increased intracranial pressure?" I asked, "And arrhythmia?"

"Yes…" said Michelle slowly, "How did you…?"

"I heard it in your head before you said it," I said, "It's almost like I can read minds."

"Maybe you can," said Sawyer, "After all, we did just fight an agent that Zeke thinks came from his world."

"Michelle, is it this new mind reading thing that's making me sick?" I asked.

"Intracranial pressure is when your brain swells to the point that it presses on the skull," said Michelle, "Normally the treatment is to drill a hole in your skull to drain the fluid. But because we don't know what's causing it, that might not fix the problem."

"Am I dying?" I asked.

"Not immediately," said Michelle, "There's a chance that the swelling could go away on its own. And even if it doesn't, increased intracranial pressure isn't always fatal. The arrhythmia on the other hand, that can be deadly, especially if it develops into a ventricular fibrillation."

"So, what do we do?" I asked.

"We don't do anything," said Michelle, "You need to relax and avoid any kind of stress. Both of your conditions are like time bombs."

The pain was gone, but periodically, I kept hearing voices. It was easier to recognize individuals voices now though.

"If Chloe can read my mind, I'm screwed. I think about sex all the time," thought Oz, "Four times five is thirty. five times six is thirty-two. Naked girls. Naked women. Naked Rachel. Naked Yuna. Naked Chloe. Oh, stop me!"

"God, Oz! Is that all you think about?" I snapped.

"Actually, bye!" said Oz, turning and power walking back out into the hallway.

"Oz has just illustrated something," said Silver, "The chances are you're all going to be thinking whatever you least want Chloe to hear."

Silver's words gave me an idea. Whatever Rachel knows that I don't is probably the thing she doesn't want me to hear. Since Zeke never got a chance to tell me if he learned anything, maybe I could use my new powers to learn why she freaked out my relationship with Yuna. But first, I needed to get rid of the others so that I could focus on

"You guys don't have to stay here," I said, "You heard the doctor, we need to rest."

"We don't mind waiting." said Sawyer.

"I was trying to be polite," I said, "I want some girl time with Rachel, so all of you, get out."

They chuckled and nodded before turning and leaving the room.

"Alright you," I said, pointing at Rachel with an arm that felt like it weighed a ton, "I want some answers. First you yell at me when you find out I'm dating Yuna, and then after ignoring me for hours, you dive in front me to save me from that agent?"

"I owe you an apology," said Rachel, "So when I saw that wave of energy heading for you, I panicked and shielded you to make sure I'd get a chance to apologize."

"Let me get this straight, instead of letting me potentially die, you stepped in front of me so that YOU could potentially die?" I asked, "That doesn't make any sense. How can you apologize to me if you're dead?"

"Clearly I'm stressed and emotional," said Rachel, "During my brief stint experiencing the alternate future that Yuna came from, I learned something that I wish I could unlearn."

"What is it?" I asked, "You're my best friend, you can tell me anything."

"Not this," she said, "This is something that I need to keep a secret. Even Zeke agreed."

"I didn't mean to sic him on you," I said, "I was angry and hurt."

"With your new psychic powers, if you really wanted to, you could read my mind to learn the secret, but if you do, don't say I didn't warn you." said Rachel.

"Now I'm not sure that I want to know," I said, "If it's about your future, did you tell Riley?"

"I haven't told anyone," she said, "I'm afraid that if I do, it'll change the future for the worst and everything we've been fighting for so hard could all be in vain."

"Wow."

All the pain came rushing back to my head and there was explosion of overlapping voices. I heard so many that I could have sworn my ears would start bleeding. I started to feel woozy and I clutched at my chest. It felt like my heart was going to burst through my chest. Just as I lost consciousness again, I heard two last voices:

"SO MUCH PAIN! SO MUCH HATRED! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! THIS TIME TOMORROW, I'M GOING TO MAKE IT ALL GO AWAY!" snarled an anguished voice that I didn't recognize.

"Yuna is my daughter from the future," said Rachel's voice, "She never knew her parents because the Crusaders killed us in the alternate 2021."

"Yuna is your daughter!?" I gasped.

 **"Michelle Masters, M.D"**

I heard Chloe's monitor start beeping from the room across the hall from the desk I was sitting at and scampered to my feet.

"What's happening to her!?" sobbed Rachel.

"She's having a heart attack," I said, "Her heart started beating too fast."

"Code blue! Get the paddles!" I shouted into the hallway, "Stay with me, sweetie!"

Nurse Franklin jogged into the room, pushing the large cart in front of her. I unbuttoned the front of Chloe's shirt to expose her chest. I held out my hands for the paddles and Nurse Franklin handed them to me.

"Charging," I said, placing the paddles on Chloe's chest, "Clear!"

I pushed the buttons on the paddles and delivered one shock.

"She's still in V-fib." said Nurse Franklin.

"Let's go again," I said, holding up the paddles, "Charging... And clear!"

I pushed the buttons again and shocked Chloe for the second time.

"I've got a pulse," said Nurse Franklin, "She's back."

"Atta girl, Chloe," I sighed, "Give her some Amiodarone to help with the arrhythmia."

"Right away, doctor." said Nurse Franklin.

"She hasn't woken up yet?" whimpered Rachel.

I took my stethoscope and placed it against Chloe's chest.

"She's in a coma..." I muttered.

 **"Ezekiel"**

Silver asked me to come to Headquarters. I arrived to find Jenna on the phone.

"That was Michelle on the phone," said Jenna, her voice quivering, "Chloe is in a coma."

"The human brain was not meant to handle the stress associated with psychic powers," I said, "We need to remove them from her brain or she'll never wake up."

"But how did she get psychic powers in the first place?" asked Oz.

"She was the closest living thing to the agent, when he died," I said, "His powers instinctively sought out a living host and jumped from the agent and into Chloe."

"Great, so all we need is a brain surgeon and she'll be fine." said Riley sarcastically.

"The powers aren't located in the brain," I said, "Our psychic abilities are an intrinsic part of our very being. They aren't associated with a specific organ."

"Then what was all that talk about her brain earlier?" asked Oz.

"Well the brain controls everything," I said, "But the psychic powers don't originate from there."

"Zeke," said Sawyer, "Do you know of a way to remove Chloe's powers?"

"There's a tonic that we used to give to criminals that would permanently disable their psychic powers," I said, "But one of the ingredients is a brain from one of my people."

"You're the only one left," sniffled Sawyer, "So that's it then? Chloe's going to die?"

"Guys," said Yuna, "I have an idea."

She went upstairs to get something. We waited with baited breath for her to return. Eventually she came back down, clutching some sort of talisman in her hand.

"We can't save Chloe in this timeline," said Yuna, "But if we were to go back in time a few hours, maybe we could get a second chance?"

"You mean like, time travel?" asked Riley.

"Exactly," said Yuna, "Zeke, you said the agent was a survivor from your world, right?"

"Correct," I said, "If I could get his brain, I could use it to create the tonic for Chloe."

"So what if we send you back in time to JUST before the agent was destroyed?" asked Yuna, "If you're fast, you could cut off the agent's head just before our attack hits him."

"That's a brilliant idea, Yuna," I said, "Since the agent will die one way or another, going back to take his brain won't alter this timeline at all."

"The only problem is that we don't know if the medallion is working properly," said Silver, "Last time you brought it out, it malfunctioned when Rachel touched it."

"Yeah, and then she saw the future through the eyes of her future self." said Riley.

"But I've been tinkering with it a lot since then," said Yuna, "Besides, we only need to go back a few hours, and that's exactly what this particular model was designed for."

"I think it's too risky," said Sawyer, "What about chaos theory? A butterfly flaps it's wings here in Metro City, then Tokyo gets struck by a tsunami."

"If you guys have any better ideas, I'm all ears," said Yuna, "My girlfriend is dying in the hospital and there's nothing we can do save her in this timeline. I'm doing this with or without your help."

"You shouldn't need all of them," I said, "You'll just need me."

"Thank you, Zeke," said Yuna, "Now come here. We need to hold hands or it won't take both of us."

"Wait a minute!" said Riley, "When you first arrived here, you were naked."

"That won't happen this time," said Yuna, "We're only going back a few hours."

"Okay, just checking." said Riley.

"Well Yuna, I for one think being naked is a beautiful thing," said Oz, "So, you know, if your clothes happen to disappear when you come back, I'd be okay with that."

"It's a good thing Rachel and Chloe aren't here to backhand you." said Sawyer.

I walked over to Yuna and took her outstretched hand. She tied the amulet around her neck and then used some sort of remote device that she withdrew from her pocket. I watched curiously as she fiddled with a few small dials on the remote.

"I'm making our destination the Sector 1 of two hours ago," she said, "We should arrive a few streets away from the psychic tornado."

"I'm ready." I said.

Yuna nodded at me and pushed the big red button on the remote in her hands. I watched as everything around us started going in reverse until eventually we left Headquarters and moved through the air of Metro City, landing less than a block away from the tornado, just as Yuna predicted.

"Wow... It actually worked." sighed Yuna.

"You weren't sure it would?" I asked.

"Not really, but I was hopeful," she said, "Come on, it could happen at any minute."

We ran towards the tornado, it was so massive that it was higher than even the tallest skyscrapers in Sector 1. As we got closer, we could hear our past selves.

"FULLY CHARGED!" they shouted in unison.

"Hurry Zeke, we don't have much time!" shouted Yuna, picking up speed.

"Five…" said Past Yellow.

Almost there.

"Four…" said Past Purple.

We could see the agent now. I summoned my trident.

"Three…" said Past Red.

We crossed through the barrier that my past self had just destroyed.

"Two…" said Past Green.

Yuna stopped and ushered me closer to the agent.

"One…" said Past Orange.

With one clean swing, I took the agent's head right off his shoulders and caught it just as the past rangers shouted:

"ATTACK!"

An enormous beam of rainbow binary erupted from the impact site. The agent was still standing upright, but it collapsed to the ground just as the binary wave decimated his crumpled corpse.

"Great job, Zeke!" called Yuna, "Now get back here before our past selves see us!"

I ran over to her and took her outstretched hand again. She fiddled with the dials once again and the time moved forwards very quickly until we arrived right back where we started.

"Well," said Oz, "What are you waiting for?"

"Nothing," said Yuna, "We just got back."

"But you didn't go anywhere." he said.

"Yes we did, and then we returned to the exact moment we left from." said Yuna.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to get the brain out of this traitor's skull," I said, "Silver, do you have a chemistry set?"

"No," said Silver, nodding at Sawyer, "But Michelle does."

 **"Michelle Masters, M.D"**

"David," I said, "Who... Um, what is that?"

"That's our friend," he said, "We call him Zeke. He's the sole survivor from one of the worlds the Crusaders destroyed."

"Why doesn't he have a mouth?" I asked.

"Because I'm telepathic." said a deep voice that echoed throughout my mind.

I jumped when I heard the voice.

"What's he doing?" I asked.

"Why don't you ask him, babe?" said Sawyer, "You like chemistry, don't you?"

I walked over to this "Zeke" character apprehensively, much like how you'd try to sneak past a sleeping dragon or something.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Chloe will dies and never wake up unless I can get rid of those psychic powers," he said. "Yuna helped me go back in time a few hours to grab the brain of an agent that was from my world. Don't be nervous, Michelle, I won't hurt you."

"I never told you my name." I said.

"Honey, he reads minds, remember?" said Sawyer.

"Oh yeah, I forgot," I chuckled, "I'm curious. Would you mind telling me what ingredients you're using?"

"These are not the traditional ingredients," said Zeke, "But the plants I need don't exist on your world, so I had to improvise a little. We have some aloe, sage, chamomile and thyme. Then as a base, I'm using pure alcohol."

"And this is going to help Chloe?" I asked.

"Well, it won't make her any worse," said Zeke, "My knowledge of Earth's flora is not as vast as that of the flora from my world. Luckily, the most important ingredient is brain tissue from one of my people."

"If David trusts you, that's enough for me." I said.

"It's ready," said Zeke, "Please give this to Chloe."

"Alright, I'll set up her IV line." I said.

"No," said Zeke, "She has to drink it. The brain tissue will clog up her veins."

I nodded at him to show I understood. One quick peek into the vial Zeke handed me was all I could stomach. It looked like vomit with pieces of brain floating in it. Probably because that's what it is.

Rachel was already dressed and sitting on the side of her bed with Riley, holding his hand. Silver wasn't kidding, Power Rangers really do heal fast. Unfortunately for Chloe, you can't heal arrhythmia or IICP, they have to go away on their own. Yuna was sitting by Chloe's bed, holding her hand.

"Can one of you help me sit her up?" I asked.

Rachel and Yuna both got up at the same time. They looked at each other momentarily and nodded. Rachel help get Chloe's right side into a sitting position, while Yuna helped on the left.

"Okay," I said, "Here goes nothing."

I opened Chloe's mouth and poured the disgusting liquid down her mouth. She coughed and sputtered and let out a few moans of disgust.

"People in comas shouldn't be able to do that." I gasped.

Chloe's eyes shot open and she leaned over the side of the bed that had the trash can and dry heaved into it while trembling.

"That was horrid." she wailed, "I probably don't want to know what I just drank."

 **"Chloe Baldwin"**

"Chloe, honey," said Yuna, "Try reading my mind."

I stared at her intently. But I couldn't hear anything.

"I got nothing." I said.

"That's great," said Michelle, "That means this is finally over."

"Not quite," I said, "The last thing I remember hearing in my head was a man who sounded so hurt and angry. He said something about how he was going to make it all go away."

"That doesn't sound good," said Riley, "Do you know where he is?"

"Yes, I know exactly where he is," I said, "I have no idea why I know that, but I do."

"Where?" asked Rachel.

"Thomson Tower," I said, "The tallest building in town. Somehow his thoughts carried all the way here."

"That makes sense," said Riley, "Didn't that used to be a radio tower?"

I moved myself into a sitting position.

"Let's go." I said.

"Chloe, as your doctor," said Michelle, "I think you should rest."

"There's no time," I said, "This is the last thing I'll get to use my psychic powers for. You didn't hear this guy's voice Michelle. It was so angry."

Thomson Tower was ten stories taller than the Empire State Building in New York. It is the tallest building in not just Metro City, but all of Canada. It's so tall that there's no stairs or escalators, since it has almost 120 floors.

Even though the only way to get to the top is by elevator, it's not one long elevator, because the building narrows the higher you go. You can ride from the ground floor up to the 40th floor, then you have to switch to a different set of elevators to get to the 80th, where you then have to get into a third set of elevators that take you up to the 112th floor. The top floor is also the observation deck.

I don't know why I somehow has a GPS tracker on the source of the angry voice, but I knew that whoever it belonged to had climbed up the side of the spire from the observation deck and had perched himself as high as it's possible to get.

But I wasn't doing that. I told the others to wait for me in the lobby and took the three sets of elevators all the way up to the observation deck. There, I ducked into the ladies room to transform so that I could safely teleport up to the spire outside the building.

"ORANGE RANGER! CYBER POWER!" I shouted from behind the locked door of the stall I chose.

I emerged fully clad in my fiery orange suit and ignored all the oohs, aahs and pointing from the people up there. Then I held the two smallest buttons on my Digitizer and teleported outside to the spire. I could feel the altitude against my skin. People aren't supposed to be up here.

"STAY BACK!" shouted the man, "DON'T YOU TRY AND STOP ME!"

He had what looked to be a sniper rifle clutched in his hands, which he pointed at me when he turned around to see me. For some reason, I also knew his name.

"Do you mind pointing that somewhere else?" I asked, taking off my helmet, "Your name's James, right?"

"Go away!" snapped James, "You think I won't use this!?"

"I don't know, James," I said, "I just-"

"Stop...doing that!" he sobbed.

"Doing what?"

"Stop saying my name like we're friends," he said, "We're not friends, I don't even know your name! Everyone down there... They all think I'm an idiot and a failure!"

"My name's Chloe." I said.

"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOUR NAME IS!" roared James.

"I don't think you're a failure," I said, "I don't think about you much at all. And not just because we didn't know each other until now."

"STOP LYING TO ME!"

"I'm not lying, James," I said, "Bugs you doesn't it? You have all this pain, all these feelings, and nobody's really paying attention."

"You think I just want attention?" asked James.

"No, I think you're on top of the tallest building in the city with a high- powered rifle because you want to blend in," I said, slowly raising my hands, "Believe it or not, I understand about the pain."

"Oh, right... Because the burden of being a beautiful superhero, that's a crippler." said James.

"You know what?" I said, "I was wrong. You ARE an idiot."

James' whole face clenched up and he burst into tears while snarling at me.

"My life happens to, on occasion suck beyond the telling of it," I said, "Take earlier today for example, I accidentally got psychic powers that nearly killed me. But it's not just me."

"What do you mean?" said James.

"Every single person down there is ignoring your pain because they're too busy with their own. The popular ones, the beautiful ones, even the people that hurt you so much that you came up here," I said, closing my eyes as I remembered what it felt like to hear their pain, "If you could hear what they were feeling... The loneliness, the confusion... It looks quiet down there, but it's not. It's deafening."

"You know I could've taken that away from you a long time ago." I said, indicating the gun

"I know..." sobbed James.

I held out my hand the rest of the way.

"I'd rather do it this way." I said.

James looked at me, then down at the gun. He closed his eyes momentarily before he finally, slowly handed me the gun. I took it and quickly ejected the magazine.

"I just wanted it to stop." said James.

"Yeah, well, mass murder?" I said, "Not really doctor recommended for that kind of pain. Besides, if you think regular life is bad, prisons is a million times worse."

"What are you talking about?" asked James, looking confused, "I would never hurt anybody! I-I came up here to kill myself."

"Oh," I said, "Then why did you bring a sniper rifle?"

"It's the only gun I have," said James, "I was in the army. Honourably discharged because of PTSD. I got addicted to Prozac and gambling. I'm a failure and a loser."

"Right now," I said, "But killing yourself is the cowardly way out."

"Chloe, thank you so much..." sobbed James, throwing his arms around me for a big hug, "I almost made the worst mistake of my life."

"Yeah, that's great," I said, "But can we maybe do this down on the ground?"

James never let go, so I decided to just bring him along with me. Once I touched down on the ground, I quickly broke free from James' grip.

"Power down." I said.

"You're just a girl," said James, "You're younger than me."

"If you had the old me, you'd have thought she was a stuck up bitch," I said, "But look at me now."

James smiled and nodded at me, before he turned and walked away, leaving the gun in my possession.

"Chloe!" called Rachel, running over to me.

"Hey you." I said.

"Who was that?" she asked.

"That was James," I said, "He didn't want to kill anyone. He's just a guy that's down on his luck. He went up there to commit suicide."

"You talked him out of it?" asked Rachel.

"Yeah," I said, "I might not have psychic power anymore, but I'll never forget all the pain and suffering I heard. There's so many people out there that need our help."

"That's great sweetie," said Rachel, "And we'll get to them right after we send the Crusaders packing."

I nodded at her with a grin.

"So you don't remember the secret you learned from me?"

"No." I said,

"If you really want me to, I COULD tell you." said Rachel.

"Don't worry about it," I said, "You were right earlier when you said I'd probably wish I never found out."

"So what do you want to do now?" asked Rachel.

"You hungry?" I asked, "I'm starving."


	15. Cocoon

**Let me know what you think of this fragmented narrative. I decided to try and challenge myself by essentially writing two stories at the same time. Except it's technically just one big story told from different perspectives in different times. It was a lot of fun to write and I think it really helped add a bit more complexity to the chapter. But, if you don't like this format, or if I'm not as good at it as I think I am, please let me know with a review.**

Sector 22  
Metro City, Canada  
September 4th, 2018  
7:55 AM

 **"Riley Bishop"**

I finally reached Sector 22. Nobody would ever think to look for me here, because most of the buildings weren't even finished yet. Every inch of my body was in pain. I was shivering, even though I wasn't cold.

I looked down at my hands and gasped when I noticed that I could barely see. My vision was blurry and bright lights hurt my eyes. I coughed and sputtered, and the palm of the hand I covered my mouth with had a little blood on it.

I leaned up against the wall and slowly slid down. Moving too fast made my head pound. Maybe if I could fall asleep, I could sleep through the worst of it. But I doubt I'd ever actually manage to fall asleep.

"AJ?" asked a girl's voice, "AJ, are you in here?"

She poked her head in through the unfinished wall from outside. Our eyes met and she gasped.

"Hello." she said.

"Go away, kid." I moaned.

"Are you okay?" she asked, inching closer.

"Everything hurts…" I grunted.

"Here, have some chocolate," she said, "Whenever I feel sick, chocolate always makes me feel better."

I winced when I reached for the chocolate, but I did manage to take it. I sniffed it curiously and took a big bite. It was smooth, creamy and sweet.

"It feels like it's been years since I had chocolate," I sighed, "Thanks, kid. What's your name?"

"Kota," she said, "I know what you're thinking. Kota is a weird name. It's short for Dakota."

"I like it," I sighed, holding out my hand, "My name is Riley."

"What's wrong with you?" asked Kota, "You've got cuts all over your skin."

"It's a long story," I gasped, "I might not even have enough time to it."

"Please tell me," she said, "If you tell me, I might be able to help you."

"How are old are you?" I asked.

"I just turned 11 last month." said Kota.

"Well, I suppose there's no harm in telling you," I said, "It all started yesterday evening…"

 **"Riley Bishop"  
** _12 Hours Earlier_

We were on the trail of an agent in Sector 13. It felt like so long ago that Amanda and I lived there. Well, I mean, she still does, but now her boyfriend is living with her instead of me.

"Agent!" jeered Oz, "Come out and play!"

"I don't think that will work," said Sawyer, "He's not a dog."

"Well he could be," said Oz, "With all the weird species these agents have been so far, would a walking, talking dog really be such a stretch?"

"No, I guess not."

"Silver?" I asked, "We don't see anything, are you sure it was Sector 13?"

"My surveillance equipment is never wrong," he said, "After all, I did design it."

"But he doesn't like to brag." said Rachel.

"I heard that, Rachel." said Silver.

"You were supposed to." she said.

I heard a loud buzzing sound overhead and looked up. But I didn't see anything. Maybe it was a bug or something? Whatever it was, it sounded enormous.

"Did you guys hear that?" I asked.

"Hear what?" asked Chloe.

"Buzzing," I said, "Loud buzzing."

"I didn't hear anything." said Yuna.

"Dude, my ears ring all the time," said Oz, "That's no big deal."

"Your ears shouldn't be ringing bro." I said, putting my hand on his shoulder.

"Riley…" said Rachel, "Don't move."

"What's up?" I asked.

"There's a MASSIVE bug on your back." she said.

Slowly, cautiously, I turned my head and peered down. Now I knew where that buzzing sound came from. It looked like a dragonfly, except its tail ended in a four-inch stinger and it had two sets of wings. It was also about 2 feet long.

"What are you going to do?" I whispered.

Instead of answering, Rachel pantomimed that she intended to either shoo it away or squash it, but because of its size, I don't think she would realistically be able to squash it.

Rachel held out her hand and whispered:

"Download weapon."

One of her sais materialized in her outstretched hand. She took one step forward and I felt excruciating pain as the bug flew away! I screamed, collapsing to the ground. The bug jabbed me with it's stinger. It felt like I was impaled with a branding iron.

"Riley!?" shrieked Rachel, running over to me.

She pulled my shirt off and gasped. The others all let out disgusted groans.

"What?" I asked.

"We need to get you to the hospital fast."

I peered down and saw that there was an ENORMOUS wound on my back. On the outside, it almost looked like a massive burn.

 **"Riley Bishop"  
** _Present Day_

"Wow," said Kota, "Hey, um, do you think I could see it?"

"You don't want to, it's really gross." I moaned.

"I have a pretty strong stomach," said Kota, "When I grow up, I want to be a doctor."

"You'd like my fiancée, she wants to be a doctor too." I gasped.

"Please, just let me see it," said Kota, "I want to help."

"You can't help me," I sputtered, "The doctors couldn't either."

My sputtering developed into a coughing fit. I covered my mouth with my hand, so as not to cough on Kota and risk infecting her too. After I regained myself, I took my hand away from my mouth and looked at it. There was more blood.

"Is that blood on your hand?" asked Kota.

"Yeah. It just means I'm getting worse," I said, "Alright, I'll show you, but then I need you to do something for me."

"What?" asked Kota.

"Bring me more food." I said.

"My parents run a convenience store," said Kota, "They don't care if I take stuff because I help out in the store a lot."

I lifted the back of my shirt, wincing again from the pain.

"That's awesome…" said Kota, "Well I mean it's killing you, but it's still kind of cool."

"How about that food?" I asked, "I'm starving."

"What do you like?" asked Kota, "We've got a great selection."

"I'm not picky," I moaned, "I'll take whatever you can get,"

"Okay, but I have to find my brother AJ first," said Kota, "We're playing hide and seek."

 **"Michelle Masters, MD"  
** _11 Hours Earlier_

"What have we got?" I asked, walking over to the trauma bay.

I looked down at the stretcher and cupped my hand over my mouth when I saw Riley. When I was around other hospital staff, I needed to act objectively as if I didn't know the patient, otherwise they'd assign a different doctor to him.

"Male, early twenties, some sort of large puncture wound on his back. It almost looks like the area around the puncture has third degree burns," said the paramedic pushing the gurney, "I've never seen anything like it before."

"It could be an allergic reaction," I said, "Did you give him a shop of epi on the way over?"

"Yes doctor, we did."

"Good," I said, "We'll take it from here. Thanks."

Once they were gone, I leaned in closer to Riley and whispered:

"What happened to you?"

"There was this weird dragonfly thing," he groaned, "But it was the size of a small microwave."

"Dragonflies don't bite," I said, "Or get that big."

"This one did," he said, "Ask the others, they'll tell you the same thing. It must be from a different dimension, like all the agents in the Crusader army."

"This is outside my area of expertise," I said, "I'm not sure if there's much I can do."

"Michelle! It hurts! It hurts so much!" grunted Riley, "You've gotta give me something for the pain!"

"I will," I said, "Just hang on until I can get you into a room."

I turned the gurney into the nearest open room and beckoned for a nurse to help me transfer Riley onto the bed.

"Where's Rachel?" asked Riley, "I want her here! I want to see my fiancée!"

"She's in the lobby," I said, "We'll let her in later. I need you to calm down and relax, okay?"

"It hurts…" he gasped, "It burns like fire!"

 **"Riley Bishop"  
** _Present Day_

"Riley, this is my little brother, AJ," said Kota, indicating the boy that was holding her hand while looking around curiously, "He's only six and he's better at hide and seek than me."

"What other games are there?" asked AJ.

"Well, since Mom keeps saying we can't afford them," said Kota, "I'd like to save up and buy some Turbo Soakers so we can have water fights in our backyard."

"Just remember, sport," I said wincing from the pain again, "You can't hide from girls forever. Eventually you'll find one that you want to settle down with."

"Ew!" said AJ, "Now I won't! Girls have cooties!"

"AJ," said Kota, "I'm a girl."

"Yeah, but you're my sister, I can't get cooties from you." he said.

"I'm going to take him home, but then I'll come back here with some food for you, okay?" asked Kota.

There was another sharp burst of pain and I looked at my hand and almost retched when I saw in real time, that another lesion was forming. I gritted my teeth and snarled as the pain got worse.

"Please hurry…" I sobbed, "It's getting worse!"

Kota nodded at me and then took AJ's hand again to escort him back home.

"Come on, AJ, we're going home." she said.

I felt a strange sensation in the back of my throat. I coughed to try and clear my throat when a glob of sickly green goo came out instead.

"Ugh!" I sputtered, "What the hell is that!?"

I heard that loud buzzing again. Last time I heard it, I got bit, so this time I scrambled to my feet and whipped my head around, searching for the bug before it could bite me. While my back was turned, I heard a thud.

"You," said an eccentric voice, "You've experienced the loving embrace of my children!"

I turned around. It must be the agent responsible for sending that bug after me.

"Your children?" I gasped.

"What would you call them?" asked the agent, "I gave them life and raised them."

"So what? They're just giant bugs!" I snapped.

"These are not just bugs, you heathen! I've used them to kill entire populations and conquer worlds!" cackled the agent, "They carry a venom so deadly that it can bypass any immune system!"

"How long do I have?" I asked.

"When did you get stung?"

"Yesterday evening." I groaned.

"If you're lucky, you might last until sundown," jeered the agent, "When the transformation is complete, you'll die, and a dozen more beautiful insects will be born from your corpse! In just six to eight weeks, there'll be swarms in the millions!"

"Don't count on it," I snapped, "My friends will stop you and your disgusting insects before that happens!"

"I guess we'll see, won't we?" cackled the agent.

It snapped its fingers and another massive dragonfly came in and picked him up.

"Riley! I'm back!" called Kota.

"That was fast." I moaned, doing my best to ignore the pain and smile.

"We just live in Sector 20. It's not far from here," said Kota, "I've got lots of beef jerky, more chocolate bars and a fresh hot dog with ketchup. I wasn't sure what toppings you like, so I just guessed."

"Wow." I said, wincing again as I reach for the beef jerky.

"Are you dying?" asked Kota.

"Yeah," I said. I decided there was no point lying to her, "That giant bug has powerful venom that can bypass any immune system."

"Well then maybe you should finish telling me your story," said Kota, "You know, just in case you die, I can tell anyone who might come looking for you."

"You're quite the manipulator," I sputtered, "Can you help me open these? My hands are trembling."

 **"Michelle Masters, MD"  
** _10 Hours Earlier_

"I need you to hold still Riley," I said, "I need to biopsy your bite so that I know what we're dealing with. You might want to bite down on your pillow."

"What's the point?" I snapped, "You're won't find anything. It's a massive insect from a different world."

"It's just standard procedure," I said, "I'll do it as quick as possible."

Riley flinched and bit down hard on his pillow. He nodded at me and I slowly broke the swollen skin around the wound. Riley snarled and screamed, but it was muffled by the pillow.

"Almost done." I said, calmly.

Riley glared at me with blood shot eyes. He couldn't take it much longer. I held the needle in for two more seconds before I slowly pulled it back out. Riley leaned over the side of the bed and vomited into the trash can.

"The pain is unbearable," he moaned, "Can't you knock me out with a cocktail of drugs until you can fix me?"

"If you mean a medically induced coma," I said, "Then no, because you need to be awake for us to test anti-venoms on."

"Please," he moaned, "Up the morphine then. It's getting worse!"

"Alright, but you're already getting a lot," I said, "I don't want you get addicted."

I stood up and walked over to his morphine IV. I fiddled with the dial to increased by two notches.

"Just sit tight," I said, "I'm going to the lab to run the tests myself. I'll tell Rachel to come in on the way there, okay?"

"Yes please. Thank you." groaned Riley.

" **Rachel Parker"**

"Hey babe," I said as I entered his hospital room, "They wouldn't let me come in until just now. How are you feeling?"

"Been better," he said, breathing a sigh of relief, "Michelle just upped the morphine. The pain is manageable now, but before that… God! It hurt so much I thought I'd die."

"Don't say things like that Riley," I gasped, "You're strong. You're one of the strongest people I've ever met."

"I can feel my organs shifting," he groaned, "Babe, I don't think I can fight this one."

"I don't remember agreeing to marry this whining quitter," I said, "We're Power Rangers, right? It'll take a lot more than a mosquito bite to take you down, do you hear me?"

"Yes ma'am." He said, with a grin.

"I've told you a hundred times how much I hate that," I groaned, even though I love it when he does that, because it's one of our inside jokes, "I've got at least another 30 years before I'll be old enough to be called ma'am."

At least now I know that underneath all those painful sores, Riley was still there.

"Yes ma'am." He said.

I swung at him but missed on purpose.

"Ah good, Rachel found you," said Michelle as she came back into the room, "Riley, I've got your test results back."

"Go ahead," he said, "Whatever you have to say to me you can say in front of Rachel."

"Alright," said Michelle, "The blood sample and biopsy tissue I took both show a disturbing amount of DNA that doesn't match yours Riley."

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"To be perfectly honest," said Michelle, looking down at her shoes, "I have no idea. It's outside my area of expertise, but I think I know who might be able to help us."

"Who?" I asked.

"Her name is Dr. Rebecca Pierce," said Michelle, "She was the Head of Entomology at McGill University while I was pre-med there. She also taught the Biology class I was taking."

"Alright, so what do we do until she gets here?" I asked.

"As much as I hate to ask," said Michelle, "I need the Rangers to go capture one of the bugs that stung Riley."

 **"Riley Bishop"  
** _Present Day_

"Why did you call Rachel ma'am?" asked Kota, "She doesn't like it."

"You'll understand when you're older, but sometimes when a girl says no to someone she's known for a very, very long time, it actually means yes." I groaned.

"Don't you mean when a boy says no?" asked Kota.

"Nope," I sighed, "Men are simple. Take whatever they say at face value until you get to know them."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a blank bottle of medication with a trembling hand. I used my eyes to count how many were left before I threw three into my mouth and swallowed them dry without water.

"What are those?" asked Kota.

"Codeine," I said, wincing from another spasm of pain, "Painkillers that the doctor gave me to take the edge off. It makes my pain go from a 20 to like a 7, which is just wonderful."

"If you're so sick, why aren't you in the hospital?" asked Kota.

"Because they want to try and stop my ascension!" I growled, readying my hand for a backhand slap.

I caught my hand long before it would have hit Kota.

"What was that?" she asked, recoiling.

"That wasn't me," I panted, "I couldn't control myself for a minute."

"Riley, I think you're delusional," said Kota, "Come on, let's go back to H.E.A.L.T.H, you can introduce me to Rachel."

"NO!" I snarled, "Leave me alone!"'

Again, I tried to attack her, but this time I didn't stop myself. I still tried to attack Kota, but I couldn't move my arm very well. I looked at it and gasped when I saw that a strange thread like substance was forming all over my body.

"What is that stuff?" she asked, sounding shocked.

"I think it's silk," I said, running my fingers through it curiously, "Like what caterpillars use to spin their cocoons."

"If you turn into a butterfly, that wouldn't be so bad." said Kota.

"Kota," I said, "Run home to your family and forget about me. It's for your own good."

"I'm not leaving you alone!" she snapped, "At least let me take you back to the hospital first, Riley."

"It's too late for me," I groaned, "Soon I'm going to transform into something very dangerous. You need to be as far away from me as possible. NOW GO!"

Kota stared at me for a long time. After a few seconds, she nodded and turned to go.

"Don't worry," she said, poking her head back in one last time, "I won't tell anyone where you are if you don't want me to."

"You'll make a great doctor someday." I moaned.

Once she was gone, I ran back to the furthest corner of the building and lay down on the ground, curled up in the fetal position. I felt another surge of pain and reached for my pills.

" **Rachel Parker"  
** _6 Hours Earlier_

I was back in Headquarters now. Michelle told me what we needed, now I had to talk the others into helping me get it. They all saw what happened to Riley, so I would imagine none of them would be too keen to risk life and limb.

"Alright," I said to the room at large, "Michelle needs us to go out and capture one those giant pests that stung Riley. She needs one alive to create an anti-venom."

"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Oz.

"Riley would do the same for any of us without hesitating." said Yuna.

"What are we sitting around for?" asked Chloe.

"You the heard the ladies, Oz!" said Sawyer.

"Ready?" I asked.

"READY!" they shouted.

"BLUE RANGER! CYBER POWER!" I shouted.

"YELLOW RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Oz.

"GREEN RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Yuna.

"ORANGE RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Chloe.

"PURPLE RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Sawyer.

Now fully transformed, we all joined hands, ready to teleport.

"Silver," I said, "Any sign of those bug bastards?"

"You're in luck," he said, examining the various monitors, "I think the agent has small swarms of them patrolling each Sector. So, pick your poison."

"Alright, let's go to Sector 11," I said, "It has no tall buildings and not a lot of people."

"Sounds like a plan," said Yellow, "Let's move out!"

" **Michelle Masters, MD"  
** _3 Hours Earlier_

"Dr. Masters?" said Dr. Pierce, "I was wondering if it would be you."

"Hello Professor," I said, going in for a big hug, "I hope this wasn't too inconvenient for you."

"Are you kidding?" she asked, "It's not everyday you get picked up and escorted to one of the most distinguished hospitals in the country in a Silversoft helicopter."

"Did you get the envelope I gave to Jenna?" I asked.

"I did," said Dr. Pierce, "I would very much like to see this specimen."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, "Riley isn't a specimen, he's my patient."

"I'm confused," said Dr. Pierce, "I thought you wanted me to see a new insect?"

"No, Professor, Riley was stung by some sort of insect and there was something peculiar about the biopsy tissue and his blood sample." I said.

"Now I understand," said Dr. Pierce, "What I saw in that envelope was NOT human DNA. I could tell just by looking at it. It's also not from any species of insect that I've ever seen on Earth, and trust me, I've seen a lot."

"When I looked the blood sample earlier today, I was getting two different readings," I said, "The largest percentage belonged to patient, but there was also a small percentage that was unknown."

"You should look at it again," said Dr. Pierce, handing me the envelope. Compare the blood from the vial to the image in the envelope you took earlier today under the microscope."

I did as she instructed. After setting everything up, I peered through the telescope and gasped at what I saw.

"That's impossible!" I sputtered.

Dr. Pierce came over and looked through the telescope as well.

"In the few hours since you took the blood sample," said Dr. Pierce, calmly, "All traces of your patient's DNA has disappeared, and in its place, you now have foreign DNA from an unknown source."

"Are you saying that the foreign DNA actually transformed Riley's DNA in the blood sample?" I asked.

"No," said Dr. Pierce, "DNA doesn't alter DNA. It's probably some sort of retrovirus. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it seems to me like whatever stung Riley injected him with a venom that's rewriting his genetic material."

"Professor," I said, desperately, "Is there a way to reverse it?"

"Possibly," she said, "But without a live specimen of the insect that stung Riley, our chances of developing a cure in time are slim to none."

"In time?" I asked.

"You saw what happened to that blood sample, Michelle," said Dr. Pierce, "If that's how fast the venom can overwrite all the human DNA in a small vial, by extrapolating what we know, I would estimate that your patient will be dead by sunset."

Just then, five Power Rangers teleported right behind me and tapped me on the shoulder.

"Ask and ye shall receive." said the Blue Ranger.

"Well, well, well," said Dr. Pierce, "What have we here?"

She was walking over to the rangers with a look of youthful curiousness on her face. But instead of looking at the rangers, she instead turned her attention to the gigantic insect that they had somehow trapped in a wire frame box.

"This is amazing!" exclaimed Dr. Pierce, "It looks like a dragonfly, but it also has features from hornets and mosquitoes too."

"Thank you, Rangers," I said, "We'll take it from here. Did any of you get stung?"

"No," said the Purple Ranger, "But there were some close calls."

"If you'll excuse me, I have to see someone about getting Riley released from the hospital." said the Blue Ranger.

" **Rachel Parker"**

I powered down in supply closet of all places. I got a curious look from a janitor on my way out. I think he was expecting for a guy to come stumbling out after me.

When I reached Riley's room, there was nobody in the bed. There was a nurse making the bed. My heart skipped a beat. If they were getting the room ready for someone else, that must mean that Riley d- no. I can't even bring myself to think such a horribly thing.

"Excuse me," I asked, "My fiancée was in this room."

"He's running a high fever and he's delusional," said the Nurse, "He overpowered me and a group of orderlies. Then he stole a bottle of codeine from the pharmacy and ran out the front door."

"Oh, thank God," I said, "Do you know which direction he went?"

"No," said the Nurse, "Maybe ask the receptionist?"

My cell phone rang.

"Hello." I said after answering it.

"Rachel, it's Michelle," said the voice on the other end, "Dr. Pierce tamed the insect. It's incredible!"

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"She's positive she can make an anti-venom," said Michelle, "But it will only have a shelf life of about 30 seconds. So, the only way we can give it to Riley is if you can find him and bring him back."

"Okay?" I said questioningly, wondering why she was saying that as if it would be a monumental undertaking.

"Rachel," said Michelle, "By our calculations, Riley will be dead by sunset."

"Not if I can help it," I said, "Michelle, keep working on the anti-venom, I'll find him."

I called Silver and asked if he could help me find Riley, but to no avail. In his delusional state, Riley left his Digitizer in his hospital room. I was lucky enough to go back for it before they sent it to lost and found.

Next, I went to our old hangout places. But he wasn't at any of them. He probably knew that those would be the first places I'd go looking for him. He wasn't at the school, he wasn't at our house, or Oz's place, or even Chloe's. The venom must be making him irrational. Which means that if I want to find him, I have to think irrationally too.

 _2 Hours Earlier_

I checked Sectors 0-10 and found nothing. While it's great that Riley knows me so well that he can essentially predict what I'll do, it's annoying and terrifying because if he hid himself too well, I might not be able to find him in ti- What am I saying? Of course I'll find him!

 _1 Hour Earlier_

My search of Sectors 11-21 also yielded no results. Then I face palmed when I realized that the answer had been in right in front of me the whole time! Riley was in Sector 22, because he knew that I knew it wasn't finished yet, so he predicted that I wouldn't think to check there, since there's not really any place he could hide.

 _Present Day_

I asked Oz to come with me to help me find Riley in Sector 22.

"How did you deduce that he was here?" Oz asked, after he teleported to me.

"When you've known someone as long as Riley and I have, you start being able to predict what the other will do," I said, "But it wasn't until after I looked everywhere else that I thought to look here."

"Just like Riley predicted?" asked Oz.

"Yup."

"Wait a minute, Rach," said Oz, "Do you see that?"

He pointed to an enormous mass of some sort of white stuff.

"Is that a cocoon?" I asked.

"Well," said Oz, "You did say the insect's venom is rewriting Riley's DNA, right?"

"OH GOD!" I sobbed, "I HOPE WE'RE NOT TOO LATE!"

"Hey!" snapped Oz, "Enough of that! It's not sunset yet!"

He ran towards the giant cocoon and touched it.

"It IS a cocoon!" shouted Oz, "Hang in there, buddy!"

I jogged over to him.

"Is this made of real silk?" I asked, while trying to gouge through.

"This is taking too long," said Oz, "Download weapon!"

His hammer materialized into his outstretch hand.

"Stand back!" he said, with a mighty swing.

The attack broke through a large section of silk on his side.

"Nice one." I said.

"Maybe your sais could help?" asked Oz.

"Worth a shot," I said, "Download weapon!"

I jabbed at the silk on my side repeatedly. On the final strike, I broke through the middle.

"Atta girl," said Oz, "Keep at it."

We spent another 10 minutes chipping away at the cocoon, until finally, after what felt hours, we dug Riley out of it. He was unconscious and covered in even more lesions than the last time I saw him.

"What's happened to you…" I whimpered, cradling him.

"Relax, we found him," said Oz, "Let's get him back to the hospital so they can make him better."

"Yeah." I sniffled.

" **Riley Bishop"  
** _5 Hours Later_

I opened my eyes and I winced from the bright light.

"Riley?" came Rachel's voice.

"That you babe?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Is this… Heaven?" I asked.

"What?" she chuckled, "Riley, you're not dead."

I slowly raised myself up into a sitting position. There was no pain at all. I wasn't shivering. My vision was back to normal. I looked at my arms and saw that all my painful sores were healing nicely.

"I'm okay?" I gasped.

"We almost couldn't find you in time," said Rachel, "If it had been anybody other than me out there looking for you…"

"Is Kota alright?" I asked.

"Kota?" asked Rachel, "Who's Kota?"

"A girl," I said, "Actually, she was pretty great."

"Riley!?" snarled Rachel.

"No, no, no," I said, "She's only 11. She found me while I was hiding in the abandoned building and helped me. She brought me chocolate and hot dogs. I should look her up later and thank her."

"Oh..." sighed Rachel.

"What? You think I'd cheat on you?" I said, "What do I need other girls for when I've got you? You're the perfect package."

Rachel smiled and whispered something very suggestive and sexual in my ear. I don't think I need to tell you exactly what she said. You can probably figure it out.

"Save it for the bedroom," I said, swinging my feet off the bed and preparing to stand up, "We need to track down that agent and squash him. And his freaky bugs too!"

I put one foot on the floor, then the other. I inched forward a little until eventually I was standing up.

"Well?" asked Rachel, "Michelle said that she has what she needs to make more anti-venom if it comes to that."

"No, I feel great," I said, "Awesome, even."

"Then you might want this back." she said, reaching into her purse and pulling out my Digitizer.

"Thanks." I said, putting it back on my wrist.

"Rangers," I said into the microphone of my Digitizer, "Meet me in Sector 22 ASAP!"

I took Rachel's hand and teleported to Sector 22 with her in tow. We arrived and I gasped when I saw what could only be the remains of the cocoon that I must have spun.

"This is where you found me?" I asked.

"Yes," she said, "Oz and I had to use our weapons to break through to you."

Four streaks of coloured binary materialized behind Rachel. From them emerged Oz, Yuna, Chloe and Sawyer.

"Alright, we're here," said Sawyer, "How do you plan to get rid of the agent his army of insects?"

"By making a beacon," I said, "Unfortunately, I can't do it myself, because I haven't unlocked Burst Mode yet."

"Neither have I." said Rachel.

"Or me." said Yuna.

"Right," I said, "Which means it'll be up to you three to create the beacon."

"I think I get it," said Sawyer, "When we activate Burst Mode, a huge beam of light comes our codecs. That's the beacon."

"Yup." I said.

"But that light usually goes away after a while." said Chloe.

"I can't help with that," I said, "Maybe try asking your codecs to just shine bright without activating Burst Mode? Since you three are the only ones that have unlocked it so far, maybe that means that you're more in sync with your codecs?"

"Only one way to find out." said Oz.

"Ready?" I asked.

"READY!" shouted the others.

"RED RANGER! CYBER POWER!" I shouted.

"BLUE RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Rachel.

"YELLOW RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Oz.

"GREEN RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Yuna.

"ORANGE RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Chloe.

"PURPLE RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Sawyer.

A rainbow of binary showered down over us and transformed us. Now clad in our colour coded uniforms, we broke up into two groups of three.

"Alright, you three," I said, "See if you can make us a nice beacon. The brighter the better."

"Hello codec," said Orange, "We're trying to make a beacon. Any chance you can shine really bright for as long as you can?"

"Yo, codec," said Yellow, "Shine on, my wayward son."

"I know we've had our differences in the past," said Purple, "But could you maybe glow really, really brightly?"

I didn't hear a response, but I did see that the codecs answered when they suddenly exploded with light. The beams shot upwards and reached a height of at least 50 feet.

"That's perfect!" I shouted, "Great job!"

"All we do now is wait for the bugs to show up," said Blue, "They'll be drawn to it like moths to a flame."

"I only wish the agent attacked us with moths," I said, "Moths don't bite."

"Moths from Earth don't," said Green, "But for all we know, moths from his world might have teeth like sharks."

"Well there's a mental image I could've gone my whole life without wanting." I said.

There was a massive sound of buzzing. After I few seconds, I looked up into the sky and saw dozens of the agent's bugs flying towards our beacon.

"No! No!" snapped the agent, "I command you to fly away! I created you, you stupid bugs! Wait, wait! Insects! NOOOO! I'm slipping!"

I watched with a satisfied smirk as the agent fell all the way down to the ground. He was writhing in pain and muttering angrily to himself.

"Insects! Return to me!" he shouted when he got to his feet.

All the insects that had been hovering near the beacon all whipped around and flew back over to the agent, but instead of joining them, each insect flew right into him. He mutated and warped into a disgusting new form. But at least now we don't have to worry about missing one of those bugs. They had merged together into a powerful new form.

"The Almighty Psion grants you immense strength!" came Astrid's shrill voice.

From above the clouds, nine gigantic golden rings landed on top of each other. The agent was right in the middle of the stacked rings. There was a loud whirring sound and the rings started to glow. Now we could see that there were invisible glyphs on the outside of the rings that only light up when the rings start glowing.

"Silver," I said, "It looks like Astrid is making the agent bigger with those rings!"

"The Zords are on their way." said Silver.

"Download Data Zord!" called Purple, "Mark 1!"

"Download Data Zord!" called Orange, "Mark 2!"

"Download Data Zord!" called Yellow, "Mark 3!"

"Download Data Zord!" called Green, "Mark 4!"

"Download Data Zord!" called Blue, "Mark 5!"

"Download Data Zord!" I called, "Mark 6!"

"Commence V2 Megazord transformation sequence!" we announced together.

We all hopped into the cockpits of our respective Zords. As the Zords began to assemble themselves, it felt like I was lifted above the action to observe the transformation, even though I hadn't really moved anywhere.

Yellow's excavator became the right arm, with the digging arm being the Megazord's actual arm. Orange's racer became the Megazord's head. Blue's ambulance became the torso. My semi-truck became the legs. Purple's stealth plane became the left arm. Finally, Green's helicopter transformed to give menacing bladed wings to the Megazord.

Now that the transformation was complete, it was like I had been dreaming everything I had just seen. I opened my eyes and found that I was still sitting at my station in the Megazord's cockpit.

"Cyberspace Megazord V2, online!" we announced in unison.

"Prepare to feel our sting, Rangers!" roared the agent.

He puffed up his cheeks and blew a swarm of smaller insects towards us. We stepped out of the way, and then had to keep dodging as the swarm tracked our movement.

"I think it's time we give this agent a taste of his own medicine," I said, "Yellow, Purple, wait for an opening and then slice off that huge stinger of his."

I made us jump high into the air and came down to deliver and a flying kick, but the agent was ready and caught the Megazord's leg.

"Wa ha ha!" it chortled, tossing us aside.

I manipulated my controls to get the Megazord back on its feet. Yellow and Purple used their controls to grab the agent so that Orange could deliver a devastating headbutt that knocked the agent off balance.

"Now!" I shouted.

Yellow and Purple had their opening. They grabbed the agent's stinger and lifted it into the air. The agent dangled there, helplessly as Yellow used the excavator arm to rip the stinger off the agent.

Then with a flourish, Yellow and Purple worked together to make the Megazord's two arms thrust the stinger right into the back of the agent's head when it hit the ground. After a few seconds, the agent seemed to tun itself inside out, leaving a huge cocoon behind, which then vanished a few seconds later.

"All in a day's work." I said.

After the battle, I told Rachel to meet me back at home. I used Silver's tracking software to pin down Kota's house. When I got there, I knocked on the door.

"Kota, would you get the door!?" came her mother's voice.

"Sure." said Kota, pulling the front door open.

"Hi Kota!" I said with a big grin.

"Riley!" she said, jumping into my arms for a hug, "You're not dead!"

"Thanks to you," I said, "I wanted to show my appreciation in person."

"Really?" she asked.

"Really," I said, "Close your eyes and hold out your hands."

She did. Quietly as possible, I pulled out her reward from the bag behind me and carefully placed them on her hands.

"Okay," I said, "Open them."

Kota looked down and shrieked with delight.

"Turbo Soakers!" she said, hopping up and down with excitement, "Thank you so much, Riley!"

"You're welcome," I said, winking at her, "Just don't tell your folks where you got them from."

She winked back at me slowly closed the door in my face. From the other side of it, I heard her shout:

"AJ come on! Let's go play outside!"


	16. Sapphire

**I don't know why the chapters have been so long lately. FanFiction doesn't show a page count, but Chapters 14, 15 and 16 all had over 20 pages, making them the longest out of any other chapters. I'm not doing it on purpose, it just sort of happens that way. Let me know if you find that the chapters have been long or drawn out and I'll try to avoid that for Chapter 17. But, if you actually prefer it, please tell me that too so I know. Enjoy!**

Bishop Residence, Sector 18  
Metro City, Canada  
September 7th, 2018  
8:18 PM

 **"Rachel Parker"**

Riley and I were hosting a party. There was no occasion. Sometimes it's just fun to hang out with your friends just because you can. But if I had to choose a reason, it would probably be in celebration of my upcoming wedding. Luckily for us, Silver helped us hire a great wedding planner. She was taking care of most of the preparations.

"Alright," I said, "Never have I ever projectile vomited."

Everyone else took a sip, while chuckling.

"Cheap shot, babe," said Riley, "You know I have."

"Yeah," I chuckled, "That poor nurse."

"Okay," said Oz, "Those in favour of upgrading to alcoholic drinks, raise your glasses."

Oz was the only one that did it.

"How did I end up with a bunch of prudes like you as friends?" he laughed.

"Just pure dumb luck." said Chloe.

"Whose turn was it?" asked Sawyer.

"Mine, I think," said Chloe, "Um… Okay, here's one just for us girls. Never have I ever had a wardrobe malfunction."

I drank, and Yuna drank.

"Sweetie, do you even know what that means?" I asked her.

"Uh huh," she said, "In fact I remember this one time, I was running through the wastelands, trying to outrun a guy that I thought wanted to you know, have his way with me, but it turns out he was a nice guy and just wanted to tell me that there was a hole in my pants."

"Huh," I said, "Chloe, you didn't drink. Are you expecting us to believe you've never had anything like that?"

"Yes, because if I'm showing something that my clothes are supposed to cover, it never happens accidentally."

"Slut!" fake coughed Sawyer.

"Screw you, David," chuckled Chloe, "Normally, I'd kick you in the balls for that. But we used to date, so I'll let it slide."

Riley, who had busied himself with his phone, let out a subtle 'hmm'.

"What's up, hon?" I asked him.

"I've been seeing a lot of ads for a new strip club that just opened up in town," he said, "It's called the Lust Parlour, and it's in Sector 8."

"Whoa," said Chloe, "Déjà vu."

"How so?" I asked.

"This is Mega Burger all over again," she said, "A new establishment pops up over night and it ends up being another of the Crusader's traps? Ringing any bells?"

"Chloe," said Yuna, "They don't remember because they were all poisoned."

"Oh right," chuckled Chloe, "And we totally saved the day."

"While I see your point," I said, "You're probably just paranoid."

"But what if I'm right?" asked Chloe, "They could be plotting our doom as we speak!"

"Chloe, knock it off, we're having a party, remember?" asked Oz.

After the party, when I was already in bed, my phone vibrated on the bedside table next to me. I tried to ignore, it but then it vibrated again, then a third time. I carefully rolled over so as not to wake Riley and reached for it. Chloe had sent me some texts.

"11:00 AM." said the first message.

"My place." said the second message.

"Tomorrow. Come alone." said the third message.

Chloe must still be worried about the Lust Parlour. Hopefully I'll be able to calm her down tomorrow. But for now, it was time to sleep.

The next day, I teleported to Chloe's apartment and touched down in the living room. My jaw would have dropped to the floor if it was physically possible. Chloe had installed two colour coded stripper poles in her living room.

"Hello, Rach," she said, when she saw I had arrived, "You got my messages."

"Chloe," I sputtered, "What did you do?"

"Oh," she said, "You mean the poles? Relax, they're just constructs."

"Since when can you summons constructs at will?" I asked.

"Apparently, I could have been doing since I unlocked my Burst Mode," she said, "Or at least that's what my codec told me."

"But why are there two poles?" I asked,

"Hi Rachel," said Yuna, walking into the living room from the bedroom, "What brings you here?"

Yuna was wearing her pajamas, which to me seemed to indicate that she was now spending the night at Chloe's on occasion. While I already forgave Chloe for dating my future daughter, that doesn't mean I like it. It just means that I've decided it's not fair to be angry at Chloe for something she doesn't even know.

"Chloe asked me to come." I said.

"Rachel, you had a point last night," said Chloe, "I don't know for sure if the Lust Parlour is a Crusader trap. But I do know that the only way to find out is by doing some detective work back stage."

"They don't let just anyone back stage." said Yuna.

"Excellent point, babe," said Chloe, moving over to the poles, "Which is why I'm going to teach the two of you how to act like strip-um, make that exotic dancers!"

"Say what now?" I sputtered again.

"I stayed up all night planning this," said Chloe, "This isn't something we can solve with just one visit, so the three of us will have to go the Parlour posing as out of work exotic dancers, hoping for jobs. Once they hire us, we'll have unlimited access to the whole place."

"Wow," I said, "That is actually a great plan. Except for the fact that it's degrading."

"If we don't investigate this, and the Parlour ends up being a Crusader trap, how are you going to feel knowing you failed to stop it?" asked Chloe, "You know I wouldn't ask either of you to do something like this if I didn't think it was absolutely necessary."

"But even if you teach Yuna and I how to dance, we still don't look like strip-um, exotic dancers." I said.

"Leave that to me," said Chloe, with a cheeky grin as she held up her credit card, "Girls? To the Chloemobile!"

The drive to the Sector 10 mall was uneventful. Yuna always acts strange in the car. Kind of like a dog, except she doesn't stick her head out of the window. But, if the window was rolled down, she might have tried.

We arrived at the mall about 20 minutes later. Chloe grabbed mine and Yuna's hands and directed us through the main door and off to the side.

"Why do we have to look like sluts BEFORE we get the job?" I asked.

"Because, if you dress normally, the club owners won't be able to see your body," said Chloe, "They won't hire girls that are too self-conscious to show off."

"Then why don't we just show up naked?" asked Yuna.

"Other than the fact it's dumb and weird, taking off all your clothes is more appropriate for a different kind of audition." said Chloe.

"Is there even a store in the mall that sells slutty clothes?" I asked, "Other than lingerie stores like Angels and Demons, I mean?"

"Yes and no," said Chloe, "We can buy everything we'll need here, but not all from the same store."

When Yuna and I looked confused, Chloe explained:

"Rachel, your best aspects are your boobs, so your disguise clothes should be something that makes it obvious to people that you're proud of them."

"They are pretty great…" I said, cupping them with my hands and squeezing them.

"Yuna, your best aspect is probably your legs, so we should find you clothes that draw attention to them."

"My legs?" asked Yuna, looking down curiously, "What's so special about them?"

"Some guys like legs…" I said, "And feet."

"What about you?" asked Yuna, "What's your best aspect, Chloe?"

"My butt and blonde hair," she said simply, "You've seen me perform as Amber before. Have any of the outfits I've worn highlighted my boobs?"

"No," I snickered, "But that's because you don't really have boobs."

"Ha ha. Very funny, I've got enough, okay?" sighed Chloe, "I've already got several outfits. This shopping trip is for you two."

Chloe escorted us over to one clothing store and had me wait outside, while she took Yuna inside to start assembling a slutty outfit for her. Even from the bench outside the store, I could still see what was going on inside.

Chloe was holding up different kinds of leggings in front of Yuna, trying to determine which style and colour looked best on her. Eventually she settled on a set that was designed to look like leather tights.

After paying for the pants, Chloe and Yuna left the store with one bag.

"Alright, babe," she said to Yuna, "Now we need to get you some heels."

"But I've never worn heels before," said Yuna, "I don't know if I'll even be able to walk in them."

"That's precisely why we're training first." said Chloe.

Chloe led the way to the nearest shoe store. Upon arriving, she took one look at it without even going inside and then beckoned for us to follow her.

"Not exotic enough." she sighed.

We all went inside the second store. Chloe kept coming over to each of us as we perused, giving us tip and pointers about what sort of shoes would look best on us.

"Rachel, the shoes aren't as important for your outfit as they are for Yuna's," said Chloe, "Try to find a colour that matches with anything, like black or white, but make sure they aren't too tall. 3 inches is plenty."

She went back over to Yuna.

"Nice find," said Chloe, "Those are perfect. Do they have them in your size?"

"I think so," I heard Yuna reply, "You said it's this number right here?"

"Yup."

"Why do some guys like feet?" asked Yuna, "Don't they have their own feet?"

"You're silly." said Chloe, kissing Yuna on the nose.

"I'll go try these on." said Yuna with a content smile.

"Any luck, Rach?" asked Chloe.

"Well, I found these," I said, "But I don't know if they're slutty enough."

I handed her the heels I had picked up. Chloe examined them much like how a jeweler examines a ring to determine if it contains a real diamond.

"Yup," she said, "Those should work. We'll be coating them with glitter when we get home anyway."

Chloe took the shoes and then went to check on Yuna. She was having trouble balancing in the shoes, but Chloe helped support her. Once we were finished, Chloe brought the shoes up to the register to buy them.

"Yuna, wait here by the bench," said Chloe, "Rachel and I have to get her the perfect bra for her disguise."

"Don't I need one too?" she asked.

"No," said Chloe, "You won't be wearing one. You'll see…"

We went inside Angels and Demons. It's basically the Victoria's Secret or La Senza of Metro City. The name comes from the idea that girls can find clothes to make them look very nice or very naughty.

"You know, I do have bras," I said, "In fact I just bought a new one the other day."

"No, you need a either a front hooking or strapless push up bra," said Chloe, "Trust me, you want to make your boobs as noticeable as possible."

"Hello," I said to the employee that walked up to us, "I'm looking for a bra."

"We have a lot of bras," she said, "Could you be a little more specific?"

"She's looking for either a strapless or a front hooking, and let's make it a push up, to really accentuate her already nice fun bags," giggled Chloe, "If you have pure white, that would be awesome, but any other colour that glows in the dark will work as well."

"I think I have just the thing." said the employee, indicating for us to follow her.

She zig-zagged through the store with ease, finally stopping in front of a display of bras called the 'Pop Up Bra', obviously because it makes your chest pillows pop up. It seemed to be an upgrade of the traditional push up bra.

"These ones come in strapless OR front hook." said the employee.

"Perfect," said Chloe, "Go try it on, Rachel. I need to make sure it works properly."

I walked over to the fitting room, which isn't even really a room. It's just a small section of wall that closed in on three sides, with a shower curtain for a makeshift door. Once inside, I pulled off my shirt and unhooked my bra, letting it fall around my waist. I took one look at the outfit bra and called to Chloe:

"Chloe, this thing is too small, it's not going to fit!"

"It's not supposed to fit," said Chloe, "It supposed to make them look bigger."

With some difficulty, I managed to hook in front, but like I said, it was too small. It wasn't really supporting me, it was more like I just placed something in front of them. Feeling ridiculous and hoping no random guys walked in to A&D, I stepped out from the curtain.

"Wow, that is small," said Chloe, going in for a closer look, "Can you breathe?"

I nodded.

"Here," said Chloe, "Let me help you."

With no subtly, Chloe grabbed at my chest and held them in place in one hand, while with the other, she readjusted the cups of the bra. When she let go, I was wearing it properly. It was snugger than what I'm used to, because those ones were properly measured, but it wasn't so snug that it was uncomfortable.

"There!" said Chloe, excitedly, "That's perfect! Go look in the mirror."

I turned around and walked back into the change room. I saw what she meant now. They were being squeezed together now and they did look bigger, even bigger than they do in a regular push up bra.

"Actually, this might be kind of fun." I said.

"There you go," said Chloe, "Miss, we'll take this one."

I changed out the special bra and put my old one back on. Compared the outfit one, it felt loose, almost too loose, even though it actually fit perfectly. After paying for the special bra, I followed Chloe back out into the mall where we met up with Yuna.

"Where to now?" asked Yuna.

"One last store," said Chloe, "Yuna, you need form fitting jeans, a t-shirt and maybe a zip up vest."

"And me?" I asked.

"We need to get you a jean skirt and a tight tank top."

Chloe led us to the final store on the agenda. It had a variety, so Yuna and I both came inside this time.

"Rachel! Heads up!" called Chloe, throwing something over her shoulder to me.

I caught it and examined it. It was the jean skirt she was talking about. Now I needed a tank top, if I was remembering her properly.

"Girls, huddle up," said Chloe, "The first rule of dressing like a slut, is to ignore your instincts. It doesn't matter if the outfit clashes, because the point is to show off for the boys, or the girls, depending on how you swing."

"Couldn't I theoretically dress like slut with clothes that match?" I asked.

"You could, but it's pointless," said Chloe, "Nobody is going to care what colour your shirt is with the amount of cleavage you'll have on display… Ah, here we go. Yuna, catch!"

Yuna caught the clothes and looked at them curiously. Then she started to take off her current shirt.

"Yuna!?" I gasped, "What are you doing?"

"I have to try them on, don't I?" she asked.

"Yes, but not here in the middle of a store, silly," said Chloe, "That was okay in the shoe store, but not here. That's what change rooms are for."

"Oh." said Yuna, simply.

She headed into the change room, leaving Chloe and I to find the rest of my disguise.

"All that's left is a tank top." said Chloe.

Across the store I could see a skimpy shirt. It had potential.

"Hey," I said, pointing at it, "What about that one?"

"Good eye," said Chloe, "It's perfect."

Yuna came out of the change room and even my jaw dropped. Chloe definitely knew what she was talking about. Yuna looked absolutely stunning.

"When it comes time for the real thing," said Chloe, "You'll have to go without the bra. You want people to just barely be able to see them, without taking their eyes away from your gorgeous legs."

Yuna blushed and looked down at the floor.

"I know it makes you uncomfortable, but we're the only ones that can find out if the Crusaders are scheming in the Parlour." I said.

Yuna nodded at me.

"Want to try on you outfit too, Rachel?" asked Chloe.

"No, I trust you." I said.

"Let me change back into my clothes." said Yuna.

I handed Chloe the clothes she picked out for me, and then once Yuna came out, she handed over her clothes too. Chloe took them up to the front and paid for them.

After the shopping spree, we drove back to Chloe's apartment to put the finishing touches on the clothes. Chloe grabbed some scissors and spiced up Yuna's pants by cutting some holes in them. She also trimmed my tank top a bit so that it would show off my stomach. While she did that, Yuna and I glued glitter onto our heels. Once we were finished, Chloe took each of our outfits and arranged them into two separate piles.

"Alright," she said, "Now that you've got outfits, it's time for dance lessons."

I walked over to the blue construct and Yuna walked over to the green construct.

"Rachel," said Chloe, "Your stage name will be Sapphire; and Yuna, your stage name will be Jade."

The dance training was hard, but at the same time, kind of fun. It was very satisfying to master a new technique. But Chloe explained that there's no set rules for pole dancing, instead each dancer is meant to experiment and adapt their own style. After about 6 hours of practice, Chloe decided that we had grasped the basics enough to successfully audition.

"Nice work you two," she said, "We're just in time for tonight's shift. Now go change into your disguise outfits."

Even Chloe dressed up in a particularly skimpy Amber outfit. This was the first time we got to wear all the pieces of our disguises.

As uncomfortable as the special bra was, I had to admit, it definitely made my boobs look bigger. I'm already a 32D, but now they look more like DDs.

"Silver?" asked Chloe into her Digitizer, "Is there a way that you can make our Digitizers invisible until we activate them? Our disguises will be useless if people see them on out wrists."

"As it turns out," said Silver, "The Digitizers have had a cloaking feature since I first recruited you. The only reason we never used it is because it's very situational."

"Great," I said, "Please activate the cloaking ability and stay in radio silence until you hear from us again."

"Is there an agent attack that I don't know about?" asked Silver.

"No," said Yuna, "But we're going deep undercover to play detective at the Lust Parlour."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because there's a chance the Crusaders erected it overnight just like Mega Burger."

"Chloe," said Silver, "You're paranoid."

"Am I?" asked Chloe, "That's because none of you remember how close the Crusaders came to killing thousands of people with the Mega Burger scheme."

"Except for me and Dr. Michelle." said Yuna.

"Well, you're old enough to make your own decisions," said Silver, "But if this ends up being a wild goose chase, I expect the three of you to answer the call if another agent attacks."

"Absolutely." I said.

"That's what I like to hear," said Silver, "Best of luck."

"Alright girls? Are you ready?" asked Chloe.

"Define ready." said Yuna.

"Babe, you look gorgeous," said Chloe, "Just take a deep breath. You can do this."

Yuna nodded took a deep breath and held it for a long time before letting it out. Then she nodded at Chloe looking a bit more confident than before.

"Let's do this," said Chloe, "To the Lust Parlour!"

We held each other's hands and teleported to Sector 8. Our destination was the parking lot of the Lust Parlour. It was evening now, around 7:00 at night. The club wouldn't be open to the public for about another hour.

"Rachel, Yuna," said Chloe, "Follow my lead."

She walked towards the staff door of the club, while shaking her hips to show off her butt.

"Yuna," said Chloe, "Take longer strides while you walk. Remember, you want to make people notice your sexy legs."

"Okay," she said, "I have to walk slow anyway so I don't trip in these stupid shoes."

When we arrived at the staff door, there was a massive bouncer. He was HUGE. He made Oz seem scrawny by comparison.

"Hello ladies, what can I do for you?" he asked.

"Hey handsome," said Chloe, "We're looking for work. Is there someone we can audition for?"

"Ah, that would be Venus," said the bouncer, "You can find her in the office with an 'V' on the door behind the stage. But, if you wanted to practice for your audition with me, I wouldn't say no."

"Maybe some other time, stud." I said, walking past him while leaning forward slightly to show off the girls.

Yuna looked at the bouncer and kicked him hard in the shins.

"If you want to see us dance, you'll come inside and watch." she said.

"Yuna!" snapped Chloe, "That is not cool!"

She turned to the bouncer on the floor and helped him up.

"I'm so sorry sir," she said, "My friend is a little cranky because it's her time of the month."

"No, it isn't." said Yuna.

I gently stomped on Yuna's foot to shut her up.

"Don't worry about it," said the bouncer, "My ex-wife was like that too. Almost 24/7, actually. Go ahead in girls."

He pulled the staff door open for us and we walked inside.

"Yuna," whispered Chloe, "You can't lash out like that. I know he was out of line, but we could get fired for stuff like that."

"We haven't even been hired yet," I said, "Don't blow our cover."

"Sorry," whispered Yuna, "He reminded me of the scum that roam the wastelands of 2041. The same cowards that converted to the Crusader's religion."

Chloe was leading us up onto the stage. There were other dancers scattered throughout the club. I guess they all already auditioned and got hired. I took a look at the pole and saw that it was shiny and new.

"I don't think anyone has even used this yet." I said as we walked by it.

We were backstage now. Chloe continued to lead us until we came to the door the bouncer mentioned. There was a golden 'V' painted in the middle of the door. Chloe knocked three times.

"It's open!" came a voice from the other side.

We pushed the door open and stepped inside.

"Well, well, well," said Venus, "What have we here?"

"Hello," I said meekly, "We'd like to audition."

Venus looked up from her computer screen and scanned us up and down quickly.

"We're very inclusive here," said Venus, "If you want to dance, just write your name and stage name on the sign-up sheet in the dressing rooms."

"That's it?" asked Yuna, "We're hired, just like that?"

"Like I said, we're very inclusive," said Venus, "However, if your performances aren't attracting much attention, we won't let you dance again for two months."

"Alright," said Chloe, "Thank you."

"Since you're first timers, you get to perform first before everybody else on the list," said Venus, "That's how we separate the stars from the amateurs."

"Thanks." I said.

We left, this time Yuna led the way. The dressing rooms were also backstage. We went down the hall and entered a slightly shabby dressing room that looked like it was ripped out of a community swimming pool.

"Here it is," said Chloe, "The sign-up sheet."

"Rock paper scissors to see which of us has to perform first?" I asked.

"I don't know what that is." said Yuna.

"It's a game," said Chloe, "People use it to decide things."

"Scissors beats paper but loses to rock. Rock beats scissors but loses to paper. Paper beats rock but loses to scissors." I explained.

"Why does paper beat rock?" asked Yuna, "A piece of paper would blow away in the wind if it was on top of the rock, but if the rock was on top of the piece of paper, the wind wouldn't be able to blow it around."

"She has a point," I said, "I honestly never thought of it before."

"If they did it that way, rock would be overpowered," said Chloe, "This way it's balanced, even if it doesn't make sense."

"Okay, ready," I said, "One… Two… Three!"

I threw down rock, Yuna threw down scissors and Chloe threw down paper.

"Chloe, why do you always do paper?" I asked.

"Yuna, your scissors cut my paper in half, and then Rachel's rock crushes your scissors," said Chloe, ignoring me, "Which means Rachel wins the honour of performing first."

"Best two out of three?" I asked.

"Uh-uh. You lost, Rach," said Chloe, "The fates have spoken."

"Fine." I sighed.

I walked over to the sign-up sheet and grabbed the pen attached to it with a string.

"What's my stage name again?" I asked, giggling.

"Sapphire." said Chloe.

I filled in the first shift with Sapphire's fake information. Yuna came over and filled in the second shift with Jade's fake information. Lastly, Chloe came and filled in the third shift with Amber's information.

One of the bouncers came into the entrance of the locker rooms and knocked on the wall, since there was no physical door.

"Ladies? Are you decent?" he asked, "It's a full house tonight."

"That's your cue, Sapphire." said Chloe.

I heard my phone vibrate from my back pocket.

"Leave your phone back here! You don't want it to fall out of your pocket." whispered Chloe.

I woke up my phone and saw that Riley had texted me:

"Oz, Sawyer and I came to cheer you on!" said the message.

"Oh God…" I muttered, "Riley, Oz and Sawyer are out in the audience!"

"Don't worry about it," said Chloe, "The lighting in these clubs are meant to illuminate the stage, not the audience."

"I can't take my clothes off in front of them!" I gasped.

"You don't have to take ALL your clothes off," said Chloe, "Especially not during your very first performance. Once you get up there, just focus on the pole and nothing else."

"Okay." I sighed.

"You can do this." said Yuna.

"Welcome one and all to the grand opening of the Lust Parlour!" came the DJ's voice over the speakers, "We've got three brand new dancers to start you off tonight! So, let's all put our hands together and welcome to the stage… Sapphire!"

On one of the makeup tables back stage, I saw a pair of dark sunglasses. I put them on hurriedly while walking out onto the stage. The sunglasses wouldn't hide my identity from Riley, Oz and Sawyer, but it would make it easier for me not to accidentally make eye contact with them.

There was an eruption of applause. Not knowing what else to do, I took a bow, since I only curtsy when I'm wearing a dress. I stood up straight and had to stop myself from face palming. I'm pretending to be a stripper, not a musician.

I grabbed the pole and walked around it a few times. I closed my eyes and thought back to earlier today. Besides, they couldn't tell whether my eyes were open or not through the sunglasses.

I started my routine. The more I danced, the more moves I started to remember. The DJ played a looped version of "Bad to the Bone" by George Thorogood during my routine, and I found that I was able to do certain tricks on the beat. It was actually pretty easy. It looks a lot harder than it is.

I was doing a handstand now, while holding myself upside down with my legs. I took my hands away and hung there while I took off my shirt and let it fall to the floor. I got a lot of wolf whistles after that. I was starting to get into it and used some of my gymnastics moves on top of the tricks Chloe taught me.

By now I had been dancing for about 10 minutes, so for the grand finale I climbed as high as I could on the pole and then unbuttoned the jean skirt, letting it fall to floor like my shirt. I did the splits and slowly turned around on the pole as I returned to platform.

"Alright everyone, give Sapphire a round of applause for that awesome first performance!" announced the DJ, "We'll send out our next newbie, Jade, in just 10 minutes, so take this opportunity to top of your drinks. You don't want to miss this!"

"Could I have everyone's attention please!?" came Venus' voice over the speakers.

I turned my head to look up into the DJ's booth, but there was nobody in there besides him. I looked back at the stage to see that Venus was holding on to the pole with one hand while walking around in circles over and over again.

"Welcome to the Lust Parlour, gentlemen," she said, "I need all of you to do me a small favour."

"I've got a bad feeling about this." I muttered to myself.

"I have reason to believe that our newest dancers, Sapphire, Jade and Amber are not who they claim to be," said Venus, "They are the Blue, Green and Orange Power Rangers! They came here to kill me, so I need you to kill them first!"

How did she know!? After all the time we spent assembling our costumes and practicing with the pole constructs, somehow, she still figured out who we really are!

As Venus spoke the last words, she snapped her fingers. I saw strange pink mist form near the ceiling and slowly float down over the audience. After a few seconds, everyone that the mist touched turned to look at me with glowing red eyes!

"Oh crap." I muttered, reaching for my clothes and running back to the locker rooms.

"You were awesome!" called Chloe from the other side of the room as I entered.

"I didn't know you were watching me." I said.

"Of course." she said.

"Well, that's nice, but we have a problem," I said, "Venus just brainwashed the audience and sicced them on us. Looks like you were right, Chloe. This was a trap."

"But not for the city," mumbled Chloe, "This one was for us."

"So what do we do?" asked Yuna, "Fight our way out?"

"No! Riley, Oz and Sawyer are part of the mob!" I moaned.

"Hi Sweetheart." said Riley, who was standing in the doorway of the locker rooms.

He was holding a fire axe in his arms. It looked like he had broken open one of those emergency cases and taken it.

"Riley, why do you have an axe?" I asked, carefully pulling my shirt and skirt back on.

"Venus wants you dead." he said simply.

"Riley, you've known me for almost 20 years!" I shouted, "After all we've been through together, you're just going to turn around and kill me!?"

"You don't understand me like Venus does, Rachel." he said.

"Sapphire, Jade, Amber," said Venus over the speakers, "This is MY world. I make the rules. I can be everywhere at once and I control the minds of all the clients! You can't win!"

"She must have already recognized us." said Yuna.

"So much for our sexy outfits." sighed Chloe.

"Should we morph?" I asked.

"There's no point," said Chloe, "If we morphed, then the others would morph too and match us blow for blow."

"I've got an idea!" I exclaimed, "Silver! I need you to disable our Digitizers!"

"Aren't you undercover?" he asked.

"I was, but Venus saw through our disguises," I said, "She's brainwashed Riley, Oz and Sawyer and turned them against us!"

"I'll need some time then, right now I can only disable all of the Digitizers," said Silver, "I have to write a new code that will let me disable individual ones."

"Type fast," I said, "Every man in the club is under her spell!"

I walked over to Riley and batted my eyelashes at him.

"Honey, why don't you put the axe down?"

"Alright." he said, lowering it.

In a split second, he hurled it at me! He tricked me! I just narrowly dodged the axe and gasped when I saw it levitate back towards him.

"Try it again, Riley," came Venus' voice from the speakers, "You know, you always were my favourite Power Ranger!"

"Snap out of it!" I shouted, pushing past him and running further down the hall.

Riley charged after me, so I dashed into the first door I came to and slammed it behind me.

"You can't hide from me, Rachel!" cackled Riley.

There was a loud 'THUNK!' as he swung the axe at the door. I retreated further and further into the room until I was up against a wall. I must be in some sort of utility room, because it wasn't very big. 'THUNK!' he hit the door again. 'THUNK!' another hit.

"Okay Rachel," said Silver, "I think I've got it."

"BLUE RANGER! CYBER POWER!" I shouted.

Nothing happened. I looked down at my wrist and saw that my Digitizer was gone.

"Oops," muttered Silver, "It looks like the cloaking device malfunctioned and made the Digitizers intangible as well as invisible…"

'THUNK!" Riley hit the door again. This time it made a dent. 'THUNK!' another hit. 'THUNK!' a third hit.

"Silver!" I shrieked.

'CRASH!' Riley punctured through the door.

"Hello Rachel." said Riley, advancing on me.

He raised the axe over his head and swung it down.

"Go for it, Rachel!" exclaimed Silver.

"BLUE RANGER! CYBER POWER!" I shouted.

I always forgot how incredible morphing felt. Sometimes, because I did it so often, I didn't even realize I was doing it. But occasionally, on a night like tonight with so much at stake, I felt the strength and wisdom of my codec filling me up.

I kicked the axe out his hands and ran away back into the hallway. As I passed the locker rooms, I noticed that Chloe and Yuna in there anymore, so I ran out onto the stage to try and find them.

"Blue!" wailed Yuna, who was clinging to the top of the pole, "I'm surrounded!"

"Download weapon!" I shouted, summoning my ring blade, "Water!"

I threw the ring blade like a Frisbee and it carved a sizable gap in the mob by pushing them away with jets of water. Yuna saw her opening and jumped down.

"Download weapon!" she shouted, while still in the air.

Her spear materialized in her hands and after she landed, she used it to fend off more of the brainwashed clients. I noticed that she was being careful so as not to seriously injure anyone with the sharp ends the of the spear.

"Blue! A little help here!" called Chloe.

She was standing on a table, kicking at more of the mob as they tried to grab her legs to pull her down. I tossed my ring blade over there with a bit more force and cleared her a path too.

"Thanks!" she shouted, "Download weapon!"

Her flail appeared in her outstretched hand. She swung it around to create an opening and then scampered through it.

"Where did all these people come from?" I asked, throwing my ring blade again.

"My allure is so strong it can even reach people outside the club!" Venus laughed triumphantly, "Soon I'll have enough followers to avenge my poor protégé, Penny!"

"I should have caught on sooner," said Yuna, "Venus was the Roman Goddess of sex, love and beauty. A very appropriate alias for the Sin Lieutenant Lust. She can only brainwash one gender at a time. That's why we weren't affected, she's targeting men right now."

"Makes sense," said Chloe, "There's a lot more men in the club than women."

"Yuna, Chloe!" gasped Silver, "Try morphing. I think I solved the problem."

"GREEN RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Yuna.

"ORANGE RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Chloe.

"You three, morph and destroy them!" bellowed Venus.

I hadn't noticed that Riley had rejoined the mob. But he was there in the back next to Oz and Sawyer. The three of them stepped forward, looking very determined.

"RED RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Riley.

"YELLOW RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Oz.

"PURPLE RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Sawyer.

But nothing happened because Silver disabled their Digitizers.

"Well, what are you waiting for!?" barked Venus, "I SAID MORPH!"

"We can't," said Oz, "Our Digitizers aren't working."

"Then I have no more use for you," said Venus, handing them knives, "I command you three to use these knives and commit seppuku like samurais who have failed in battle."

"As you command, Venus." said Sawyer.

"Riley! NO!" I shouted, trying to fight my way through the mob of people.

Riley, Sawyer and Oz got down on their knees and held the knives near their stomachs. I tried to get to them, but Venus' brainwashed army was too big.

The only way I could get past them would be to fight them, but I couldn't do that either. These were innocent people, Riley, Sawyer and Oz wouldn't want to be saved that way. I watched helplessly as they stabbed themselves.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I screamed, erupting into tears.

There was an enormous explosion of blue binary that created a gigantic pillar of light. It was so bright that it was almost blinding. I felt an immense surge of power.

"Rachel, this is called Burst Mode," said my codec, "This mode was locked away deep inside me, but you activated it by truly embodying compassion."

"Compassion?" I asked.

"Your love and dedication for your friends is what drew me to you in the first place," said my codec, "Burst Mode doubles your power in ranger form. The initial explosion can also turn the tide in a tough battle."

"I was worried that I might never unlock my Burst Mode," I said, "This should be fun!"

I looked down at my suit. Burst Mode had transformed my suit. Normally the predominant colour is blue with white accents, but now the primary colour is white with blue accents. I was also emitting an aura of blue energy.

"Riley! Oz! Sawyer! STOP!" I shouted.

Miraculously, they stopped, right before they would have made the first cut. A simple stomach wound is nothing to worry about, our codecs can help us heal that really quickly. If my Burst Mode had triggered even a few seconds later, it would've been too late. Not even Michelle could do anything about disembowelment.

"What are you doing!?" roared Venus, "I told you to kill yourselves!"

"Who's this bitch?" asked Oz, turning around to face her.

Venus kicked Oz in the face and sent him flying!

"That was for Penny!" she spat.

"I'm okay!" called Oz from the back of the club.

"Let me handle her…" I said.

I ran forwards, and then cartwheeled the rest of the way to Venus.

"Hello, Sapphire," she said, "Burst Mode or no Burst Mode, I make the rules here!"

"Is that so?" I asked.

Venus snarled and floated into the air. She spun around at dizzying speeds. When she stopped, the lower half of her body had been replaces with that of giant spider's.

"Behold my true glory!" she roared.

I watched curiously as she balanced on her hands and fired eight individual bolts of lightning from each of her eight legs. I saw that they were heading right for me, but they seemed to be moving very slowly. I dodged them effortlessly.

"Not even a Power Ranger should be able to see that fast!" snarled Venus.

"You've got no one to blame but yourself," I said, "My Burst Mode activated when you forced my fiancée and some of my best friends to commit seppuku."

"Rachel," said my codec, "Try unleashing the full power of your synthetic element."

Instructions on how to do that appeared on the screen inside my visor. I followed them.

"This is the end for you, Spider-Bitch!" I shouted, "PRISON BUBBLES!"

I held up my hands and launched hundreds of bubbles right at Venus. The attack was a direct hit and Venus became trapped inside a massive bubble.

"Rachel," came Silver's voice, "While in Burst Mode, you have more than enough energy to charge up your weapon for an ultimate upgrade all on your own."

"This is awesome!" I exclaimed delightedly.

"CYBER RING! ULTIMATE UPGRADE!" I announced.

I put both hands on my ring blade and I felt all the extra power drain away from me and transfer into my weapon. The ring blade was at least 7 feet long now. It grew bigger and bigger as more and more power flowed into it.

"FULLY CHARGED!" I shouted, then I waited five seconds, "ATTACK!"

I threw my enormous ring blade like a Frisbee. It flew inside Venus' bubble and lodged itself right in her chest. Then it spun around and around, slicing and dicing until the ring blade exploded into blue binary. When the smoke cleared, Venus was gone. There weren't even any remains.

I collapsed to me knees, gasping for breath. My suit returned to normal only to disintegrate a few seconds later. Riley and ran over to me, picked up and spun me around.

"You did it, Rachel!" he said, delightedly, "You unlocked your Burst Mode!"

"Please put me down!" I choked, "I'm already exhausted and now I can't breathe!"

Because Yuna and Chloe had to use the Megazord to fight Gluttony, Mega Burger was destroyed and has since been rebuilt into something else. But with Lust gone, the Lust Parlour had no owner and no purpose.

"I'm buying this place," said Silver, "It's the perfect opportunity to test out my remodeling drones."

"You have remodeling drones?" I asked.

"I get bored." he said.

"What are you turning it into?" asked Oz.

"A place where teens and young adults can come and hang out." said Silver, "Something Metro City doesn't already have and could really use."

"Sounds cool." said Chloe.

"When do we get to see it?" asked Yuna.

"In less than an hour," said Silver, "The drones work quickly and efficiently."

Silver led us outside. From the parking lot, it looked like the building was spinning around just like how the Tasmanian devil does. When the spinning stopped, we all gasped. The building now looked COMPLETELY different.

The drones exited the building and returned to Silver. He looked very pleased, until the drones rocketed into the sky like fireworks and exploded.

"Damn," said Silver, "That always happens."

"At least they finished the renovations first." I chuckled.

"Let's go see the inside!" cheered Riley excitedly.

The inside looked amazing. It was a combination between a pub, an arcade and a rec center.

"Hey, check it out guys!" announced Chloe, "There's karaoke!"

She bounded over to the karaoke stage and turned on the machine. She looked undecided momentarily before she finally settled on a song. She cleared her throat, grabbed the microphone and started to sing:

"When I was younger I saw my daddy cry and curse at the wind. He broke his own heart and I watched as he tried to reassemble it. And my momma swore that she would never let herself forget, and that was the day that I promised I'd never sing of love if it does not exist, but darlin' you are, the only exception!"

As she sang that last line, she pointed at Yuna. Yuna's eyes started to water and she looked down so we wouldn't see her cry. After the song was over, Chloe came back to stand with us.

"That was beautiful, Chloe," said Silver, "Thanks.

"Don't mention it," she said, "I just felt like we should christen it, you know?"

"While I don't expect it," said Silver, "All of you are welcome to come and help Jenna run this place whenever you want. Speaking of which, don't tell her about this. She mentioned that she wanted something new and refreshing to do besides helping at HQ. So, I did this as her birthday present."

"She'll love it, Silver," I said, "And so will all the other teens and young adults like us. This place is awesome."


	17. Restless

Oz's Subconscious

 **"Heath 'Oz' Ostreicher"**

I looked out longingly at the massive, Hawaiian sun. It was so big and warm, blanketing me with a feeling of strength and relaxation. To my left and to my right, two hula girl outfit clad angels were fanning me with palm fronds.

"Rachel," I said to the one on the left, "I want to hear you say it again."

"Oz, you're so strong and handsome," she said, "And a much better lover than Riley."

"This is the life…" I sighed.

My phone rang. Appropriately, I had changed the ringtone to the Hawaii Five-0 theme.

"Chloe," I said to the hula girl on the right, "Be a dear and answer that for me."

"Anything for you, stud," she said, picking up the phone and pressing the talk button, "Hello? Mr. Prime Minister, what a surprise! You want to speak to Oz? Just a moment, let me see if he's available."

"Tell him I'm on vacation." I said.

"Mr. Prime Minister," said Chloe, "Oz is on vacation for the foreseeable future."

Hula girl Yuna walked up behind me and tapped me on my shoulder.

"Sir it's time for your sponge bath." she said.

"What do you know?" I chuckled, "Time really does fly."

Yuna stripped down out her coconut bra and skirt, revealing a bikini underneath. She reached behind her back and pulled a sponge out of thin air. The lawn chair I was sitting in was now a luxurious bathtub.

I waited with anticipation as Yuna slowly lowered herself into the tub, which was now full of bubbles and warm water.

"You two, the water is great, come join us!" I snickered as Yuna started scrubbing my toes with her sponge.

Rachel and Chloe stripped down into their bikinis too. They were giggling and started to touch each other sensually as they moved over to the tub, which was now big enough for four people.

As they lowered themselves down into the bath, they were caressing each other's boobs and soon started kissing each other passionately. I watched, not saying anything so as not to ruin this otherwise perfect moment.

Yuna let go of the sponge and let it float in the water momentarily so that she could pull my swim trunks off. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. Suddenly the sun went dark and felt the moisture of the ocean on my face.

There was a tremendous rumbling. I opened one of my eyes and what I saw made the other snap open. There was a massive tidal wave heading right for the beach! Yuna, Rachel and Chloe weren't paying attention. Seconds later, it crashed down, sweeping us all off the beach.

When I opened my eyes, I was on the football field, but I haven't played since senior year.

"Ostreicher!" barked Coach Wrigley, "Ostreicher!"

"Coach?" I asked, "But… You're dead."

"I ain't dead, you idgit!" he barked, "But I'd cut my head off right now if it would motivate you to win this game!"

I looked at the opposing team. They were clowns! I HATE clowns. Ever since I was 5 years old and my Mom hired a cheap clown for my birthday. He showed up drunk, which I was too young to realize at the time. When he made me a wiener dog balloon animal, it popped it my hands, I got scared and ran away, only to have him chase me around the yard!

"Coach," I spat, "These clowns are going down!"

I got into position and had everyone huddle up.

"Alright boys," I shouted, "Red Right 30! Pull Trap! Set! Hut!"

I haven't played football in several years, but I still knew all our teams plays by heart. I threw the ball in between my legs to the player behind me, but then on of the players from the clown team ran all the way over to our side at breakneck speed and intercepted it, which is cheating.

"Damn clowns!" I snarled, "Screw the game! Let's teach these big shoed bastards a lesson!"

I tackled the clown that intercepted the ball to ground and took the ball. Then I kicked it as hard as I could towards the nearest clown. It hit him in the chest, sending him flying backwards.

The referee, who was also a clown for some reason, was blowing on his whistle repeatedly. I grabbed another ball from the side lines and kicked it just as hard towards the ref, only to have him hit it back a me with a massive baseball bat that he pulled out of nowhere.

"Ostreicher! What the hell are you doing!?" shouted Coach Wrigley, "This is a football game, not a wrestling match!"

That's when I noticed that Coach Wrigley was a clown too. But it wasn't just him, all the players on my team took off their helmets to reveal that every single one them were clowns!

"NO!" I shouted, "Get away from me!"

Another clown that I couldn't see kicked to the ground from behind me somewhere and then knelt on my chest, pinning me down. I struggled and tried to reach for him, but he was too strong. I watched as he pulled out a knife and stabbed me right in the chest with it!

"Fucking clowns!" I spat.

I headbutted him to shake him off and started running down the field. As I ran, the world around me transition from the Sector 13 High School football field into a different area of Metro City that I didn't recognize off the top of my head.

I looked down at my chest and saw that there was no wound or blood anywhere. I placed my hand over my heart and felt it beating quickly.

"What the hell?" I panted.

I stopped running and looked around. I was definitely in Metro City, but the landscape of buildings was non-descript, so I couldn't determine exactly where I was. But I did notice that there was a massive mountain in the distance. I could feel a soft rumbling sound a saw a puff of smoke shoot out from the top of the mountain.

"Hey Oz, there you are!" said Marcus, patting me on the back.

"Marcus?" I asked, turning to look at him.

"Who were you expecting?" he asked, "Lois Lane from the Smallville TV show?"

"Well to be perfectly honest, I wouldn't care either way, she was smoking."

"We've been looking everywhere for you," said Marcus, "Where've you been hiding?"

"The Sector 13 football field," I said, "And before that, Hawaii."

"Huh," said Marcus, "Not that it really matters now. Are you packed? The van is already loaded up."

"Van?"

"Yeah, my wheels." he said.

"Dude, what year is it?" I asked, very confused.

"Are you high or something?" chuckled Marcus, "It's 2015. Now come on, we've got a long drive to the campgrounds."

"Camping?" I asked, "Marcus, we've never gone camping before."

"Well, duh," he said, "They just opened the campgrounds this month, man."

"Alright, then let's hit the road I guess," I said, "I call shotgun!"

"Sorry, Oz, I already called it before you showed up." said a man in the passenger's seat.

He turned his head to look at me and my jaw dropped. It was Trojan! But he didn't LOOK like Trojan. He looked like just a regular scrawny guy with long creasy hair and a bad complexion.

"Trojan?" I sputtered.

"What are you talking about," he asked, "My name is Aaron, you know that."

"Marcus, what is HE doing here!?" I asked incredulously.

"I invited him of course." said Marcus.

"But he's… You know, evil!" I protested, "He's the one that killed you!"

"Don't be ridiculous," said Marcus, "Aaron wouldn't hurt a fly. Now hop in the back seat, we're losing daylight."

I got into the back seat and fastened my seat belt. I looked forward, but the van didn't move. Instead, Marcus and Aaron got out of the van.

"Phew," sighed Aaron, "What a drive!"

"Ah but smell that fresh campground air." said Marcus.

Marcus opened the back door so that I could get out, even though we just got in the van.

"How are we already here?" I asked, "I just sat down, but all of a sudden, we're somewhere else."

"Well it helps when you've got a teleporting van," chuckled Marcus, "Oz, this is YOUR dream. If you don't like, change it."

"I've been trying!" I snapped, "I wanted to stay in the Hawaii dream, but then that stupid tidal wave hit me, and I ended up in the football clown dream."

"Football clowns?" asked Marcus.

"It was horrible," I muttered, "And one of them stabbed me in the chest!"

"You seem fine to me," said Aaron, "If you want to see a wound, check this out."

He unbuttoned his shirt to reveal a massive wound right over his heart.

"Compliments of you and the Power Rangers." he said.

"I'm confused," I said, "I thought you were Aaron Kingsley."

"Two names for the same being."

"Guys..." said Marcus, pointing to the enormous mountain I noticed earlier, "We might want to get out of here... Fast!"

I looked up and jaw dropped! That strange mountain was actually a volcano! A huge torrent of lava shot out the volcano and landed right in front of me. Or at least, I expected it to be lava. Upon further inspection, I noticed that it wasn't lava.

"Cool!" said Marcus excitedly, running over to the "lava" excitedly.

He stuck his finger inside and then pulled it back out quickly.

"Yeow!" he yelped, "Still too hot!"

Marcus put his finger in his mouth to dull the pain.

"All I need now is a giant pancake." he chuckled.

"I'm more of a waffle person myself." said Aaron.

"What is that stuff?" I asked.

"Maple syrup," said Marcus, "What were expecting?"

"Molten lava," I said, "You know, because it's a volcano!"

There was another long rumble and the volcano erupted again, but this time it exploded, and a massive torrent of syrup rolled down the side and was headed straight forward.

Aaron and Marcus were gone when I turned around. I tried to get out of the way, but my legs didn't do anything. The syrup doused me, and I felt my whole body become sticky.

I opened my eyes and found myself floating in a dark void. Someone tapped me on the shoulder.

"Oz!" called Zeke, "Oz you need to wake up!"

"I'm dreaming?" I asked.

"You've been asleep for 26 hours now," said Zeke, "I think you've been injected with some sort of sleep toxin that's preventing you from waking up."

"Every time something bad happens in the dream, instead of waking up, it just leads to another dream." I said.

"The agent is trying to kill you!" said Zeke, loudly, "If he kills you in the dream, then you die in real life?"

"Like from Nightmare on Elm Street?" I asked.

"I don't know what that is," said Zeke, "But you need to fight against the toxin and try to wake up."

"In the second dream, a clown stabbed me in the chest," I said, rubbing my hand over the spot the knife pierced me, "But I didn't die. I fought him off and there was no wound."

"I think he's trying to perform some kind of ritual," said Zeke, "In real life, I'm sitting on a chair next to your bed. I can hear pieces of his thoughts mixed in with your."

"How did you get into my house?" I asked.

"Oz, that's not important right now!" he snapped, "You need to wake up before he can carve out your still beating heart."

He spoke the last seven words one at a time, almost as if he was repeated what he was hearing out loud. Now that I think about it, he probably was.

"I don't even want to know what he needs my heart for." I said.

"The agent knows that I'm in here," said Zeke, "I should leave before he catches me. Good luck, Oz!"

Now I was sitting at table in a posh kitchen. Across from me was a smoking hot girl wearing a sexy negligee. She had dirty blonde hair, the most incredible body I've ever seen and big brown eyes.

"Hey there, sexy." I said to her.

"Heath are you flirting with me?" she asked.

She called me Heath. If she wasn't a goddess in human form, I'd clobber her. Okay, maybe not. I don't hit girls… Unless they ask me to because they're being naughty.

"Yeah," I said, "Do you have a problem with that?" I asked.

"Not really," she said, "But it's a little weird. We're already married."

I peered down and saw that I was wearing a wedding band on my left ring finger.

"How about that?" I chuckled.

I didn't know what my wife's name was, but I learned a long time ago that there's no polite way to ask a woman that question, except for the first time you ask it. No matter how polite you are, you'll either kicked in the nuts or slapped in the face. So, I knew better than to ask.

"Last night was… Incredible!" said my wife, raising her shoulders and winking at me.

"It definitely didn't suck." I said with a coy smile.

From upstairs, there was a shrill shriek, followed by loud crying.

"Oh," she said, "Sounds like your son is hungry."

"My son?"

"Yes, Chucky," said my wife, "I'll go get him."

While she was gone, I stood up and went over to a pile of letters near the fridge. I rifled through them until I found one with her name on it: "Heidi".

Heidi came back down the stair with a baby in her arms. Chucky looked exactly like me when I was a baby. He looked like a clone of me, instead of my son.

"Can you fetch his bottle from the fridge, babe?" asked Heidi.

I walked over to the fridge and pulled out the only bottle that was in there. I came back to the table and handed it to Heidi, who then handed it to Chucky. He put his mouth around it and closed his eyes as he ate.

"Good boy." said Heidi, patting his head.

"So, what do you want to do today?" I asked her.

"Honey, you have to work, remember?" she replied.

"Right… Work." I said.

"At the garage," said Heidi, "Like where most mechanics work."

"Of course," I said, "The garage."

There was a surge of power and one of the light bulbs in the overhead light fixture fizzled out.

"Damn," said Heidi, "Can you go down to the basement and get a new light bulb?"

"I think he's trying to perform some kind of ritual, you need to wake up before he can carve out your heart!" Zeke's words echoed in my mind.

"The basement?" I asked, "Um, actually, why don't I take Chucky and you go get the lightbulb?"

"I'm not going down those stairs, they aren't carpeted, and I have a sprained ankle." she said, lifting her negligee to reveal a tensor bandage around her right ankle.

"I'm sorry, sweetie, I forgot," I said, "You made it upstairs like it was nothing."

"Going upstairs is much easier for me," said Heidi, "Kind of ironic, isn't it? I'm a chiropractic with a sprained ankle."

"Alright," I said, "I'll be right back."

I went over to the stairwell and cautiously took one step.

"What are you doing, Heath?" giggled Heidi, "Don't tell me my big, strong husband is afraid of the dark?"

"I'm not afraid," I said, "I'm just being careful. I can't afford to sprain my ankle too."

I took five more steps and then stopped. So far, so good. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary yet. I don't know what's the down there, but I feel like if the agent was going to try carving out my heart again, it would want me to be alone.

I was at the bottom of the stairs now, which just one door separating me from potential heart removal. I took a deep breath to calm myself and slowly turned the doorknob.

"Hello?" I asked to the room at large.

It was pitch black in the basement. I fumbled around for a light switch but didn't find one. I could hear deep, demonic laughter. I walked forward a little more until my head hit something. It was a light bulb. I found the string nearby and pulled it, illuminating the entire basement in light.

"Yellow ranger," said the demonic voice, "I hope you're having pleasant dreams!"

"Screw you!" I spat.

"No, no," said the agent, emerging from the shadows and wagging a finger, "Screw you. That's what I'm trying to accomplish, but you keep evading me."

The had a sleeping cap on its head. Its head was shaped like a pumpkin seed and it had four eyes on its face. Instead of hair, there were a bunch of spikes that pointed upwards coming out of its head.

"I don't get it." I said.

"I take out your heart and replace it with mine," said the agent, "Then I recite and incantation and when you wake up, I'll be your body, and you'll remain trapped in my body, in Dreamland forever."

"You can't do that!" I shouted.

"Yes, I can," said the agent, "My special ability allows me to interact with things in real life from their subconscious. I can keep injecting you with my sleep toxin and there's nothing you can do to stop me from in here."

"That's why Zeke can't see you," I said to myself, "He's watching me sleep, but you're not actually in the same room as me, because you don't need to be."

"Now you're catching on," cackled the agent, "Now hold still so I can start the ritual!"

"Never!" I shouted, getting to morph.

Then I realized that my Digitizer wasn't on my wrist. The agent must have rigged things so that I wouldn't be able to use my ranger powers to defeat it.

"I have you right where I want you," said the agent, "There's nothing you can do to stop me."

"I can wake up." I said.

I clenched and gritted my teeth.

"Come on, Oz!" I muttered, "Wake up!"

I went from lying down into a sitting position while in a bed and looked around.

"Huh, I think that did it." I said, looking around for Zeke.

That's when I noticed that I wasn't in my bed. I was in A bed, but it was definitely not mine.

"You were talking in your sleep." said a voice off to my left.

I looked in that direction and saw Knox Nolan, sitting on top of a bed on his side of wherever we were. He was hugging his knees and looking out of a barred window.

"Knox?" I asked.

In case you've forgotten, Knox was a kid that me and my friends used to bully relentlessly. He desperately wanted to join our group so that we'd stop picking on him, so we dared him to ride down a very steep hill in a rickety old shopping cart. He survived, but he ended up in a coma for years.

Three years ago, he came back to Metro City and he was walking and talking. It turns out that Trojan pulled some strings and turned him into a cyborg. When I found out about this, Trojan turned Knox into a virus, and me and the others were forced to kill him.

This was Knox, but it seemed like this is what he would've looked like if he hadn't become a cyborg and was instead a 20 something year old man.

"What's up, Oz?" he asked, "Can't sleep?"

"What about you?" I asked.

"I have insomnia," said Knox, "It's a side effect of my new meds."

"Meds?" I asked, "Knox, where are we?"

"Salinger Insane Asylum," he said, "Just like we will be tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that and the day after that. Repeat until insane. Oh wait, we already are."

"We're insane?" I asked.

"You have delusions of grandeur and you're bipolar," said Knox, "And me, I'm schizophrenic and chronically depressed."

"According to who?"

"The doctors that both did examinations of us," said Knox, "Don't worry man, long term memory loss is a common side effect of your meds."

"How do I have delusions of grandeur?" I asked.

"You think you're some sort of super hero," said Knox, "The Yellow Cyberspace Ranger, I think is what you call yourself."

"I'm not delusional, Knox," I said, "I AM the Yellow Ranger."

"See? There you go again." said Knox.

"I'm not crazy, all of this is just a dream," I said, "In the real world, you came back as a cyborg. Then our nemesis, Trojan turned you into a virus, so the other rangers and I had to kill you."

"Don't say things like that, man!" snapped Knox, "You know I'm on suicide watch!"

"Sorry." I muttered.

"You should focus on things that matter," said Knox, "Like finding Astrid's kryptonite, or getting ready for the arrival of another traveler."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, "You're not making any sense."

"What do you expect?" snorted Knox, "I'm crazy, remember?"

There was a knock on the door and the small window near the top swung upon. A large hand reached in through the opening.

"Nolan, Ostreicher," said the owner of the hand, "Time for your meds."

My stomach twisted. Meds? For all I know, that hand could belong to the agent in disguise. Knox took his pills and swallowed them without any water.

"Ostreicher, take your pills." said the hand owner.

"No," I said, "I don't want to."

"If you don't take your pills, Dr. Forest will come and fore feed you them." said the hand.

"I don't care," I said, "I'm not taking my stupid pills!"

"Calm down, Oz," said Knox, "They're trying to help us."

"No, they're not!" I snapped, "They want to cut out my heart and take over my body!"

"DR. FOREST!" called the hand.

I grabbed the hand before it could leave and bit it as hard I could. I think I drew blood, I could taste the faint metallic flavour of blood. I don't know why blood tastes like pennies.

"GOD! SON OF A BITCH!" roared the hand, retreating through the opening in the door, "OSTREICHER! YOU JUST EARNED YOURSELF A DAY OF SOLITARY CONFINEMENT!"

"Why would you do that?" asked Knox.

"I panicked," I said, "I don't any drugs. I just want to be left alone so I can wake up!"

"But now they'll knock you out and forced feed you the pills before they take you to the rubber room." said Knox.

"Crap," I muttered, "I didn't think of that."

The orderlies would be coming any second now, there's a 99.9% chance that one of them will really be the agent. I can't let them knock me out! It would be the perfect opportunity to perform his freaky body snatcher ritual.

"Nice seeing you again, Knox." I said.

I hugged the farthest wall of our room and readied myself. I was going to break down the door and make a run for it.

"CHARGE!" I announced as I dashed, shoulder first into the door.

It was surprisingly flimsy. The force of my tackle knocked the door clean off it's hinges.

"There he is!" shouted someone from down the hall, "He's trying to escape!"

I didn't know which side of the hall they were coming from. I would have to guess I hope I choose right. No wait, not the RIGHT side, I mean make the correct decision. English is weird sometimes.

"Hey assholes! I'm over here!" I shouted, ducking back into my room.

They came running from the left side, right past the opening where our door used to be and kept going to the opposite side of the hall. Now's my chance. I need to go down the hallway that they came from to get out.

I started running and didn't stop until I hit a dead end. I kicked open the double doors, but instead of leading to the lobby of the institution, it led somewhere else.

For some reason, the double doors of the asylum opened into the front seat of what looked like a police car, which I was somehow now sitting in the driver's seat of.

"Oz?" asked someone to my right, "Earth to Oz!"

"Huh?" I said, looking at him.

This must be my partner. According to his badge, his name was Jeffery Dunn.

"Dude you completely zoned out," he said, "Come on, let's get out there.

"Yeah, sure." I said.

Dunn partner and I each opened the doors at the same time and stepped out. It was very late at night. We appeared to be some sort of wooded park, probably just on the outskirts of Metro City.

"Night, detectives." said the officer who was standing near the ticker tape.

"What have got?" asked Dunn.

"Caucasian male, maybe early to mid 20s," said the officer, I noticed that he had a name tag sewn onto his shirt near the pen pocket: "Ulrich", "Coroner is on her way, but cause of death is pretty obvious."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"See for yourselves." said Ulrich.

We walked over to the ticker tape and stepped over it carefully. I knelt as low to the ground as I could go and saw exactly was Ulrich was talking about.

"Looks like his heart was…carved out his chest." I said, realizing the meaning immediately.

"Poor bastard," sighed Dunn, "Have you notified next of kin?"

"We can't," said Ulrich, "He doesn't have a wallet on him. We've got ourselves a John Doe."

"Never ceases to amaze me what people do to each other." said Dunn.

"How do we know a human did this?" I asked, "Maybe it's a coyote?"

"There are no coyotes in Metro City," said Ulrich.

"We're on the outskirts," I said, "It's not uncommon for predators like wolves or foxes to follow prey into Metro City and then take their kill back to their nests."

"That's an interesting theory," said a female voice that I recognized immediately, "But tell me, Detective Ostreicher, how many coyotes do you know of that can use surgical scalpels?"

I looked up. It was the same girl that I was married to a few dreams ago. I'm positive that I don't know her in real life, so maybe my subconscious is trying to tell me that I'll meet her in real life soon?

"No." I said simply.

"How can you tell his heart was surgically removed?" asked Dunn.

"The wound is rectangular," said Heidi, "If some sicko ripped it out, it would look like more like a crater."

"Do you think a doctor did this?" I asked, "I thought they sign an oath?"

"They do," said Heidi, "I know the heart was surgically removed, but I don't know if it was removed post mortem?"

"Post what?" I asked.

"Post mortem, Oz," said Dunn, bonking me lightly on the back of the head, "Did you leave your brain back at the precinct?"

"Maybe," I chuckled, "It's been a long day."

"I won't know until I perform the autopsy."

"By all means doc," said Dunn, "Take him away. There's no useful evidence on him."

"Ulrich," I said, "Want to do something about all these onlookers? I think its way past their bedtime."

"Alright folks! Go back to your homes! Nothing to see here!" shouted Ulrich.

All the gawkers retreated slowly away from the ticker tape and slowly turned away.

"Now that we're alone," I said to Dunn, "Let's look for clues."

Then I saw it. For a fraction of a second, Dunn's face flickered between his true form and his human disguise! Dunn was the agent! Now was my chance, he wasn't paying attention to me, he was busy looking for evidence.

"Ulrich!" I called, "Did you bag the murder weapon?"

"Yes, Detective, I did." he said.

"Can you bring it to me?" I asked.

Officer Ulrich went over to the trunk of his police car and popped the trunk. He fumbled with the contents momentarily before he pulled out an evidence bag, presumably the one with the murder weapon in it. He brought it over to me and I took it.

"Thanks." I said.

I ripped the bag open and a grabbed the scalpel by the handle. As silently as I could, I crept behind Dunn until I was within striking range. He was now examining a blood stain on a nearby tree.

I stood up and in one swift motion, I jabbed the scalpel right trough the side of Dunn's head! The agent reverted to its true form and let out a small whimper, before fading away.

There was a small tinkle as whatever the agent had been hiding up its sleeve fell to the ground. I saw it and immediately knew what that it was the syringe full of sleep toxin. I reached for it and closed my fingers around it.

Oz's Bachelor Pad  
Metro City, Canada  
September 10th, 2018  
1:04 AM

I sat bolt upright in my bed.

"Oz! The agent is right on top of you!" shouted Zeke.

He was right. Maybe by killing the agent's manifestation from inside my subconscious, I kicked him out trapped him in the real world. I looked at my right hand and saw that I was holding something tightly in it. It was the syringe.

I smirked at the agent, who was completely defenseless. I took the syringe and stabbed the agent with it right in the eye! It let out a blood curdling scream and toppled sideways, landing on the hardwood floor. Panting and gasping, I looked at Zeke and nodded at him.

"Is it dead?" I asked.

"Indeed," said Zeke, "You did stick the needle through its brain after all."

"Thanks for your help." I panted.

"Don't mention it." said Zeke.

"How did you know I was trapped in Dreamland?" I asked.

"I like to check up on you all using my powers from time to time," said Zeke, "But when I tried to find you, you weren't here. Even if you were in a different country, I should still be able to inspect your mind."

"That's when you came here and did your weird teleporting thing to get inside and found me sleeping?" I asked.

Zeke nodded.

"Huh," I said, "Well, as long as I'm awake, why don't we play some video games?"

"I don't know what that is." said Zeke.

"Ah young grasshopper, I have so much to teach you." I said, doing my best Mr. Myagi impression.

"Why did you call me grasshopper?" asked Zeke, "Is that a new nickname you've come up for me?"

"No, man, it's from a movie," I chuckled, "The Karate Kid. I know you're not from Earth, but as long as you're here, you might as well try to embrace the culture."

"Culture?"

"Yeah, like movies and video games."

"Very well," said Zeke, "Let's start with video games."

"Cool," I said, "Sit on the couch over there and grab any controller other than the gold one… The gold one is mine."


	18. Gemini

The Youth Lodge, Sector 8  
Metro City, Canada  
September 12th, 2018  
4:21 PM

 **"Jenna Dawson"**

Silver surprised me a few days ago by gifting me with the newly renovated former Lust Parlour. We renamed it to the Youth League for obvious reasons. It was a place for young people in Metro City to come and relax.

We offer soda, cocktails and other virgin drinks, as well as a variety of other food and snacks that are made in house. I've always been a pretty good cook, but Silver hired a new up coming chef to help me in the kitchen.

"Hi, could I get a poutine with shredded cheese instead of curds?" asked a customer at the bar, "And for a drink, I'll get a Dr. Pepper."

"Coming up," I said, typing in the order into the system, "Do you already have a tab started?"

"No, I just came from school." said the customer.

You probably already know that Metro City is self contained. There are no chain restaurants or stores, but we do have brand name products at those places.

One thing Silver insisted on is that Youth Lounge is a not for profit business. Every three months, we donate all the profits to charity.

Chloe and Yuna came over to the bar. They were wearing their fancy new waitress vests.

"Anything ready to be served?" asked Chloe.

Chloe quit her job at the Spearmint Hippo to waitress full time at the Youth Lodge. Yuna also asked for a job shortly after Chloe started working. We were all surprised with Chloe's choice. She said it was because she was tired of stripping.

"The poutine for the kid with the white hoodie should be ready in a few minutes."

Unlike a typical restaurant, at the Youth Lounge, everything you buy gets added to a tab that you pay when you check out. Silver isn't trying to make a profit, all the food and drinks are very cheap, which is why the business took off so fast.

There were genuinely no other alternatives anywhere in Metro City before we opened, and now that we have, it only took two or three days for the word to spread. The food isn't cheap because it's bad, it's cheap because the purpose of the Youth Lodge is for young people to come and have fun, and not to bleed them of their salaries or allowances.

That might seem like a bad way to run a business, but Silversoft is so profitable that Stephen will never run out of money. He came pretty close after the debacle with Roger Illiak, but once people realized how silly those claims were, things went back to normal.

Chloe had one waitress job before and from what I hear, she was quickly fired from it. But Yuna has probably never worked before period. However, since they started working here, they've been performing superbly.

The kitchen was where the locker rooms used to be, and the bar was situated on the outer wall of the kitchen. So as orders were finished, the chef would place them on the window for me to grab and then give to Chloe or Yuna to deliver to the customer.

"Poutine with shredded cheese!" announced the chef, placing the plate on the window.

"Okay, there it is," I said, taking the plate and putting it on a tray. Then I grabbed a glass and used my soda hose to fill it, "And here's his drink. Either one of you can take it."

"I'm younger," said Yuna, "I should get to take it."

"What are you talking about?" chuckled Chloe, "We're the same age!"

"Yes, but I was born after you."

"Time travel loopholes don't count." said Chloe.

"Ladies, will one of you please just take the food before it gets cold?" I asked.

"Yuna, go for it." sighed Chloe.

"Yay." said Yuna playfully.

"Chloe, why don't you go sing for us?" I suggested.

"What about orders?" she asked.

"Yuna can handle them."

Silver was a silent partner in the Youth Lodge. He gave it to me to do whatever I want with it. He pays the bills, but I'm the manager. It's a pretty sweet deal, because he has no idea how to run a business like this.

"If the customers like you, I'll pay you extra for each performance." I said.

A smile broke out on Chloe's face. This was the perfect opportunity for her to put all her singing practice to good use. She could easily get a record deal if she hadn't accepted the responsibilities of being a Power Ranger. Her mother is already a famous singer, Chloe already has one foot in the door, but instead she chose to help people.

Chloe took off her vest and handed it to me. Then she walked over to the stage and turned on the karaoke machine. I watched her as she browsed the songs. She smirked when she settled on one.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" I announced through a microphone I had hidden behind the bar, "The Youth Lodge is proud to present the singing talents of the lovely Miss Chloe Baldwin!"

Even from way back at the bar, I could see that Chloe was blushing. She didn't know I had a microphone, let alone that I was planning on introducing her. She looked a little nervous, but then took a deep breath before she started to sing:

" _Do you ever feel like a plastic bag? Drifting through the wind, wanting to start again. Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin? Like a house of cards, one blow from caving in. Do you ever feel already buried deep? Six feet under scream but no one seems to hear a thing. Do you know that there's still a chance for you? 'Cause there's a spark in you, you just gotta ignite the light, and let it shine! Just own the night, like the Fourth of July! 'Cause baby you're a firework! Come on show 'em what your worth! Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!" As you shoot across the sky-y-y!_ "

As soon as she sang that last line, every customer in the building turned to look at her. They all whooped and cheered. Chloe definitely noticed the positive feedback, but she stayed professional and didn't react accordingly until after she finished the song.

Everyone clapped and applauded. I know that Chloe knows she's good, but sometimes I don't think she knows just how good she is. What a better way to show her than to have her perform? The audience was demanding an encore. Even though I was far away, I'm positive that I saw a small tear trickle down her face.

"Thank you so much..." she said, her voice breaking, "I normally cover songs by female singers, but now I'm going to try and do my favourite David Guetta song."

The music started, Chloe regained herself and moved back in front of the microphone, looking very confident. Then the lyrics started:

" _You shout it out, but I can't hear a word you say. I'm talking loud not saying much. I'm criticized, but all your bullets ricochet! You shoot me down, but I get up. I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose. Fire away, fire away! Ricochet, you take your aim. Fire away, fire away! You shoot me down, but I won't fall, I am titanium! You shoot me down, but I won't fall, I am titanium, I am titanium, I am titanium, I am titanium!_ "

Again, more applause and cheering. Since there was nobody coming to order anything, I left the bar and made my way over to the stage to get a better look at Chloe. She looked so happy and confident.

 **"Yuna Murphy"**

"I've been studying the Power Rangers for months now," said Astrid, "And one thing is readily apparent. You aren't just their newest member, but you're also new to this time period. I always had my suspicions, but finally, I have you right where I need you to get all the answers right from the source."

I was chained up to a wall somewhere in the Crusaders' hovercraft.

"You're probably wondering where you are," said Astrid, almost as if she was trying to seduce me, "I sent down one of our ghosts to abduct you, and in your place, we put an android that is the splitting image of you. Well, from the outside, at least."

"I don't remember..." I muttered.

"Yes, that's to be expected," said Astrid, "Our ghosts are highly trained. They can phase through solid matter, become briefly invisible, as well as induce sleep and short-term memory loss. Quite a useful combination."

"What do you want from me?" I asked.

"Information," said Astrid, "It seems a shame to damage such a beautiful specimen. But I will, if you don't cooperate with me."

She caressed my cheek with her finger.

"I'm not a specimen!" I spat, "I'm a human being!"

"What you are is an affront to Lord Psion!" snapped Astrid, "An insignificant obstacle that we will eventually overcome!"

"If you're so confident, then why do you need me?"

"The only reason you would come to this time is because we already destroyed Earth in your time," said Astrid, extending the fingernail of her right index finger into a long, lethal blade, "I want you to tell me how we won and how much you know about the Crusaders!"

"You might as well just kill me," I spat, "I'll never tell you anything."

"If I kill you, my only chance at answers dies with you," said Astrid, menacingly, "So I can't kill you, but I CAN hurt you… Humans are so very fragile."

As she said the last word, she used her nail blade to gouge into my left cheek and drew a small diamond with a cross inside it. I gasped and winced.

"There," said Astrid, "Now Psion's glorious light will always be with you!"

"You're wasting your time," I sighed, "The others will see right through your stupid android and rescue me."

"Oh no they won't," said Astrid in an annoying sing song voice, "Our hovercraft, the Dauntless, is hovering just outside of your planet's atmosphere. Not exactly like there's a ladder for easy access."

"They'll find a way," I gasped, "I believe in them, just like they believed in me."

She slapped me hard across the face.

"Enough of that," sneered Astrid, "If you keep whining, I'll stitch your mouth shut."

"Go ahead," I chuckled, "But if you do that, I won't be able to tell you what you want to know. Even though I would die before I ever betray my friends."

"You don't know who you're dealing with," sneered Astrid, "I don't NEED you to talk. We have agents that can literally extract information right out of your head."

"If you can do that, why not just start with that?" I asked.

"Because it's boring," said Astrid simply, "On the other hand, peeling all of your skin off, would be much more fun."

I couldn't stop myself from letting out a small whimper.

"Oh, and in case you need more motivation," said Astrid, "Your android clone has hundreds of hidden weapons and I can control it remotely from here."

As she spoke, a strange holographic image appeared, suspended in midair. I could see the exterior of the Youth Lodge.

"Our hovercraft is equipped with thousands of highly advanced cameras," said Astrid, "Watch this, I can even see through buildings with X-Ray vision."

Astrid pressed a button on a small remote that was strapped to her wrist. On the holographic image, the roof of the Youth Lodge faded away, and now I could see the inside of it.

"All of those people in there…" said Astrid, "With just a press of a button, I could have the Yunabot kill every single one of them."

"You can't…" I whimpered.

"Oh, I can," said Astrid, "And if I do, it will be because you wouldn't tell me what I want to know. All of their lives are in your hands."

I glared at her.

"Now," said Astrid, "Are you feeling more cooperative?"

 **"Chloe Baldwin"**

After my performance, Yuna and I went back to Headquarters to do some sparring since our shifts were over. We don't normally need to spar, but there's always been a training room in Headquarters available to us.

It's not like we'll get any weaker in ranger form if we don't train, but lately, the Crusaders have been attacking us in ways that we can't fight. It's not like you can punch a psychic coma or a mutant bug bite, so I think now would be a good time to start training.

"So, we're fighting each other?" asked Yuna.

"Yes, but not hard," I said, "It's just for practice."

"Alright, I think I understand." she said.

Yuna unbuttoned her hoodie and pulled down her jeans, revealing a white tank top and a pair of black leggings. I was already in my training gear because I came to the room before her.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Are you?" she asked.

"You're trying to distract me by turning me on," I said, "Fine. I was gonna go easy on you, but not anymore."

Yuna smirked and winked at me.

"Knock it off!" I chuckled.

Now she stuck out her lower lip and pouted.

"You are really asking for it, young la-"

Faster than the eye could see, she kicked me in the chest, knocking me down. I stayed down there for a while, sprawled on my back. How did she do that? I was watching her. One second, she was standing in front of me and the next, she was within striking distance.

"Ow! I said not hard!"

"That wasn't hard."

"Hard enough to knock me down," I said, getting to my feet, "Ease up even more."

I front-flipped to bridge the gap between us and threw a punch, which Yuna caught effortlessly. She was trying to force my fist back towards my face, but I kneed her in the stomach to break free.

Once Yuna regained herself, she performed a trip kick, which I was ready for and hopped over. We moved closer until we were standing very close to each other and continued our fight. Yuna finally found a good balance. She was hitting hard, but not so hard that it hurt, just enough for me to feel it.

Theoretically, we could fight unmorphed, but we don't because we know that eventually we'll have to morph anyway. Morphing in advance saves time and is generally more efficient.

And then it happened. Yuna threw a punch, but she faked me out beforehand so that I wouldn't be able to block it. It hit me hard in the shoulder. I wailed in pain and then went flying across the room. I hit the mats on the back wall and slid down to the floor, wincing.

"What the hell!?" I snapped, "Yuna, that really hurt! I think you broke my shoulder!"

When I looked back at Yuna, I noticed that her eyes had turned red and she somehow came all the way from the far side of the room to my side in the blink of an eye.

"Time for you to die, Orange Ranger!" barked Yuna.

"Chloe! Get away!" shouted Silver, "That's not Yuna!"

He must have heard the commotion and came over to investigate. I got up and jogged over to him, while clutching my sore shoulder.

"You okay?" he asked.

"The bitch broke my shoulder." I said.

"Fire in the hole!" announced Silver, lobbing a small silver ball at Yuna.

The silver ball landed between her feet and started beeping rapidly. There was a bright flash that covered the entire room. When the light subsided, Yuna was lying on the floor.

"What the hell?" I gasped.

"It's an android," said Silver, almost as if he couldn't believe it either, "I thought she was acting strange lately."

"What did you do to it?"

"EMP, electro-magnetic pulse," explained Silver, "It'll be out of commission for at least a few hours."

"So, if that's an android, then where's the real Yuna?" I asked.

 **"Yuna Murphy"**

Astrid made the android attack Chloe because I spat in her face. I figured she'd be able to turn it into scrap metal, but it pulled a fast one on her. I felt bad because Chloe got hurt.

"You have no one to blame but yourself," she said, "I warned you what would happen if you insist on keeping your mouth shut."

"I've been meaning to ask you," I said, "What happens once the Crusaders wipe out everything that doesn't worship Psion? You just live there all by your lonesome?"

"I'm not going to live there, there's no place for me there…" said Astrid, "I'm a monster. What I do is evil, I have no illusions about it, but it must be done."

"What kind of god encourages torture and mass murder?" I asked.

She slapped me hard across the face again.

"How dare you question His greatness," she said, seething with anger, "You're not even worthy of saying His name."

She looked curiously at me for a moment. And then her eyes moved down to observe my arm. She grabbed my right arm and twisted hard. I screamed as I felt my arm break, but Astrid wasn't done, she grabbed my wrist and started pulling on my broken arm.

"You know," she said, very casually as if we were two friends meeting for lunch, "This arm isn't looking too good. It might have to come off."

I shrieked in pain and struggled to break free. My arm was throbbing now, and it was bent at a weird angle. Astrid was cackling quietly to herself.

"See what I mean?" she asked, "Fragile."

 **"Jenna Dawson"**

I left some of the other staff members to run the Youth Lodge when Silver called me back to Headquarters. When I arrived, I saw Chloe, laying on one of the cots, wincing in pain and whimpering softly.

Then I looked over towards the center and saw Silver sitting at a workbench. And laying down on that bench was Yuna… With her head detached from her body and a strange panel open on her back. I saw that her head wasn't resting on her neck because it was sitting on the corner of the workbench.

"What the hell!?" I sputtered.

"Hi, Jenna," gasped Chloe, "Yuna went all Stepford Wife on me while we were sparring and broke my shoulder."

"Stepford?" I asked.

"Yeah, it means she's a robot."

"I know what it means." I said.

"It looks like someone replaced our Yuna with this highly advanced android," said Silver, "The technology inside this thing is very impressive. It looks like they even copied Yuna's DNA and injected it into the artificial skin."

"The others need to know about this." I said.

"I've already called them," said Silver, "They should be here soon. I was hoping you could set Chloe's shoulder and put it in a sling."

I walked over to Chloe, fighting my instinctive urge to go examine the robot with Silver. As I approached, I saw that Chloe's eyes were watering from the pain.

"What happened?" I asked her.

"She sucker-punched me and I went flying to the far wall," said Chloe, "I guess my shoulder hit the wall first."

"I need you to sit still for a minute, this might sting," I said, "I need to check and see what kind of break it is."

"What does that matter!?" whined Chloe, "It hurts the same!"

"It does matter, Chloe," I sighed, "If it's a clean break, then I don't have to realign it, it will heal properly by itself."

"God bless accelerated codec healing." said Chloe.

"Uh-huh, now hold still." I said.

I gently walked my fingers across her skin using two fingers until I got to the broken section. I prodded a little harder, Chloe yelped in pain, but I was still going as gently as possible.

"You're not going to like this," I whispered in her ear, "I need to realign it."

"That won't be necessary, Jenna," said Chloe, "In fact, I think I actually like it better this way."

"On the count of three…" I said, "One, two…"

I went on two and yanked her whole arm down hard. Chloe screamed in agony and started hitting me softly with her good arm while silently crying.

"You suck!" she whimpered, "You went on two! You went on two!"

"All done." I said, patting her on the head.

"I hate you…" sobbed Chloe.

"I know." I chuckled.

I proceeded to tie a sling around Chloe's left side and helped her position her arm into it properly.

"There you go," I said, "You'll be good as new soon."

"Thanks." she said.

Chloe wasn't in as much pain anymore, so I left her on the cot and walked over to Silver, just as four streaks of coloured light came down from the ceiling.

"You rang?" asked Oz, obnoxiously.

"You're not funny." I said to him.

"Sure I am." he said, with a cheeky grin.

"Rangers, we have a shocking development," said Silver, from over by the workbench, "Yuna is missing. Chloe found out the hard way that she was replaced by this highly advanced robot."

"Missing!?" snapped Rachel, as if it was her own child that had been kidnapped.

"She can't have been gone long," said Silver, "My educated guess is that this happened late at night."

"So, all day, Yuna hasn't really been Yuna?" asked Sawyer.

"Yes," said Silver, "And this technology makes some of my inventions look obsolete."

"Will it help you improve our arsenal?" asked Riley.

"Not really. I think this robot was created on an assembly line," said Silver, "See? Look there. All these cauterized spots. They're too precise to have been done by hand."

We all approached curiously to see what he was talking about.

"I'm not sure whether we should try to build the assembly line or try to build our own android," elaborated Silver, "On the bright side, I can't see any components in here that don't also exist on Earth. So theoretically, I COULD copy this design. It would just take a really, really long time."

"I say we toss the hunk of junk on a scrap heap," said Oz, "Anytime you start talking about replacing the Power Rangers with robots, I get strong Skynet vibes."

"Who said anything about replacing you?" chuckled Silver.

"Um… No one, I guess," said Oz, "But I thought that's what you were getting at."

"I'm sorry," said Chloe loudly, "But can we get back to the bigger issue here? MY GIRLFRIEND IS MISSING!"

She but emphasis on the last four words.

"I understand where you're coming from Chloe," I said, "But since Yuna is most likely on the Crusader's hovercraft, we have no way of getting her back."

"We're the Power Rangers!" whined Chloe exasperatedly, "We can just teleport directly inside it, can't we?"

"No," said Silver, "We can't. The Crusaders aren't stupid. There's no way they would just float up there completely undefended. Their hovercraft will probably have anti aircraft, EMP and other various weaponry to protect it on the outside, and Astrid's most elite troops on the inside."

"In laments terms, it would be a suicide mission." said Sawyer.

"But, it's Yuna…" whimpered Chloe, "There has to be a way… There just has to be."

"Ironically, the only person who would know how to get inside that hovercraft is Yuna," said Rachel, "Maybe that's why they took her in the first place?"

"If not that, then they want to know what she knows about how the Crusaders of 2041 defeated us in the alternate timeline." said Sawyer.

There was a familiar sound as Zeke ripped open one of his trademark portals. Wait a minute, that's it! Zeke travels by jumping from dimension to dimension.

"Zeke!" I blurted out, "Perfect timing!"

"I know," he said, "You think I might be your only chance to rescue Yuna."

"You really can't turn off that mind reading, can you?" I sighed.

"No." he said, simply.

"We're assuming the Crusader's hovercraft will have barriers that prevent anything from teleporting directly inside it," said Silver, "But you don't teleport spatially, you teleport inter-dimensionally, right?"

"Technically, I don't teleport at all," said Zeke, "But you're on the right track."

"It's too risky for us to send five Power Rangers aboard that hovercraft," said Silver, "They wouldn't get very far before being outnumbered by the inevitable security."

"He's right," said Riley, "But if we only send one of us, it betters the chances that they'll go undetected."

"Alright," said Chloe, "If one of us has to go, I think it should be me."

"No Chloe," I said, "You're benched until your shoulder heals."

"Then let's send Rachel." said Chloe.

"That won't work, remember?" asked Silver, "The Crusaders would have to be stupid not to have anti-teleportation barriers."

"I'll go," said Zeke, "They'll expect the Power Rangers to mount a rescue mission, but they won't expect me."

There was a moment of silence while we all looked at each other.

"Seems to make the most sense." sighed Oz.

"Do you need to know the coordinates of the hovercraft?" asked Silver.

"If I were teleporting, yes, but I'm not," said Zeke, "I'll infiltrate the hovercraft, find where they're keeping Yuna and rescue her."

"Good luck, Zeke." I said.

 **"Yuna Murphy"**

I was shivering. It was chilly inside the hovercraft and Astrid ripped my shirt off to get easier access to my chest. She only wanted to hurt me though, not humiliate me, otherwise she would have taken off my bra too.

Astrid clipped a strange device on my chest. It looked like a glowing neon mechanical spider, except it had four legs instead of eight. The four legs gouged into my skin, locking them in place.

There was a dial on the back of the spider gadget, that caused it to vibrate. I don't know how it worked, but I do know that the harder it vibrated, the more pain I felt across my whole body. It was agonizing, but I didn't want her to know that she was getting to me.

"Tell me what I want to know, and I'll make the pain stop." she said, turning the device off.

"But resist, and I'll make you wish you were dead." she said.

She turned the dial all the way to the right, which is the highest setting. I screamed in pain, it was so loud that I was convinced I tore my vocal cords.

"Okay, fine!" I sobbed, "I-I-I'll tell you."

Astrid smirked.

"In 2041, you defeated the Power Rangers because there was no green ranger," I whimpered, "But in this timeline, you'll lose, because we're stronger together."

Astrid's smirk turned into a snarl. She extended all the nails on her left hand into lethal blades and stabbed me in the stomach. I screamed in agony again. Everything started to turn fuzzy and I felt woozy.

"Psion has already foreseen our victory," whispered Astrid in my ear, "One extra ranger won't make a difference."

My head drooped as I lost consciousness.

 **"Ezekiel"**

After jumping between six different dimensions, I finally arrived inside the Crusader's hovercraft. It was dark, almost as if most of the lights were off, but there were red lights on the floor that I could follow.

The problem is that I don't know where Yuna is being held. I need to find someone that does and read their mind. But first, I needed to power up. I snapped my fingers and a golden trident appeared in my hand. It was long and elegant.

"Noiro, God of Darkness! Answer my call and grant me your power!" I shouted.

A spotlight appeared above my head, but instead of a beam of light, it seemed to be a beam of shadow.

"UNLEASH THE MIGHT!" I shouted. A bolt of dark lightning came down and struck me.

I threw my trident high above my head and when it came back down, I caught it. There was a flash of black smoke. After it subsided, a very dark blue armoured suit had formed around my body. The blue was so dark that it was almost black.

"Midnight Ranger!" I announced.

"Hey! You!" whispered a voice, "Are you a Power Ranger?"

"No, but as an ally of theirs, I've adopted the word 'Ranger' into my real title," I said, "I don't see where you are."

"I'm hiding under the floor," said the voice, "In the ventilation shafts."

"Yes, I know that now," I said, "My people have an inborn ability to communicate telepathically to compensate for our lack of mouths."

"Are you some sort of alien!?" said the voice, "Stay out of my head!"

"I can't do that," I sighed, "My powers don't have an off switch. And I'm not an alien, I'm from a world that the Crusaders destroyed. My name in your language is Ezekiel, but the rangers call me Zeke, as a nickname."

"Cool," said the voice, "I came here to rescue a girl named Yuna."

"Yes, I know."

"Okay, I get it," said the voice, "You know why I'm in here. But why are you in here?"

"For the same purpose," I said, "To rescue Yuna Murphy, the green ranger."

"Back up a second." gasped the voice.

There was a loud clattering sound as the as metal grate on the floor below me shifted. A person climbed out from the opening and stealthily slid the grate back into place.

"Did you just say that Yuna is the green ranger!?"

"Yes."

"Imagine that," chuckled the person, "I knew she travelled to 2018, but I had no idea she joined the rangers. I didn't even know there WAS a green ranger. In my time, there was no green ranger."

"I arrived on Earth after she had already joined," I said, "I don't know the details of how that happened."

"Don't worry about it," said the person, "I'll ask her myself after I rescue her."

"You…" I muttered, "You're Priya, aren't you? Yuna's girlfriend from 2041."

"I am," she sighed, "I got stabbed by scavengers and told Yuna to leave me behind and run because it was part of a plan that she didn't even know about."

"You don't need to tell me," I said, "I've read your mind. I know you're not an enemy. Maybe you can help me rescue Yuna?"

"Sure," said Priya, "But I don't want her to see my face. I'll reveal myself to her later."

"You know where she's being held," I said, "Guess that means we both know."

"I was planning on sneaking in underneath the torture chamber when I saw you morph," said Priya, "I can defend myself, but I'm not super strong like the Power Rangers."

"Let me lead," I said, "Stay behind me."

"I think the torture chamber is this way." said Priya, pointing to the left side of the dark hallway.

"That's a very peculiar outfit." I said, indicating her strange clothes.

"I had to improvise," said Priya, "I learned the hard way that when you use a modified Quantex medallion to travel over 20 years into the past, your clothes get left behind."

"At least you're wearing all black," I said, "It'll make sneaking around easier."

Priya pulled her face mask up so that it covered everything but her eyes. Then she took out a futuristic pistol and turned the safety off.

"I got it from one of the guards," she said, "I arrived from my time inside this giant hunk of junk. Didn't take me long to figure out that this is the Crusader's hovercraft."

I led us down the direction Priya indicated and was surprised at the lack of activity. There were no guards or agents anywhere. Or so I thought. I heard the thoughts of someone that clued me in to the fact that they were waiting to ambush me.

"Hiyah!" shouted Priya, kicking wildly at a small crevice on the right.

Someone let out a sharp gasp and fell forward into the narrow hallway. I recognized the voice, it was the same as the thoughts I had heard. Priya must have been in here a while to know that he was hiding there.

"These guys are trouble," she said, "The Crusaders call them ghosts. They're masters of disguise and weavers of illusions."

"How do you know all this?" I asked.

"I was with a rebel group in 2041," said Priya, "Our mission was to finish the war against the Crusaders that the Power Rangers started. I've fought against all kinds of Crusader reinforcements."

"And so was Yuna." I said, looking at her.

"Yes," said Priya, "She thinks I'm dead. It was all part of the plan. The scavengers weren't supposed to kidnap Yuna, so I had to improvise to get the plan back on track."

"Why did you have to lie to her?" I asked.

"Because the only reason Yuna would ever run away is if she thought I was dead. Her birth parents and adoptive parents, except for her brother were all dead. The only thing she really loved was me. She and her brother didn't really get along."

"I get it," I said, "If she thought everything she ever loved was gone, you and the Commander knew she'd stop at nothing to defeat the Crusaders."

"It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do," sobbed Priya, "That's why I don't want Yuna to recognize me. Not yet."

"Help me reach the torture chamber and I'll go in by myself." I said.

Priya nodded.

"We're getting close." she said.

I took one step forward, over the unconscious ghost. I must have tripped some sort of alarm, because klaxons started blaring and the dark interior was illuminated by rotating red lights that were attached to the ceiling. They were probably up there the whole time, but we couldn't see them because it was too dark.

"Shit…" muttered Priya, "Run!"

Giant blobs of powdery blue goop dripped from the ceiling and transformed into the generic foot soldiers that Rachel had eloquently dubbed "Creepers". They blocked the hallways on either end of the room.

"We're trapped," I said, "We fight."

Priya cocked the pistol she got from the guard. I raised my trident and twirled it in my hand. Two creepers ran towards me, I jumped, stabbed one in the head and flipped forward, slamming the impaled creeper into the other.

The two creepers involved melted back into their goop form and dripped down into the grates on the floor. I threw my trident like a javelin at a creeper that was trying to sneak up behind Priya, it wasn't looking at me and was caught off guard. My trident lodged in its neck and the creeper toppled forward, melting down into goop.

I held out my hand and the trident flew back to me. Two more creepers came forward. They used their stretchy arms to punch me from halfway across the room. Some of the blows landed, but the rest I avoided by grabbing their arms so that they couldn't move.

"Priya! Catch!" I said, using my free hand to throw my trident to her.

She jumped for it, but was pushed aside by the ghost she kicked unconscious earlier. It's my own fault for not finishing it off. This was a big problem because unlike the Power Rangers, the source of my powers is my trident. Even throwing it in battle is risky because if I'm ever separated from it for even a minute, Noiro will take back his powers.

"How did you know I was hiding there!?" roared the ghost.

"I could hear your thoughts," I said, "It's a gift my people are born with."

"It's also a gift that you will die with," said the ghost, "When Commander Astrid promoted me to the rank of ghost, she said that if I fail in my mission, I sacrifice my soul to Psion as punishment for wasting his powers."

"What kind of god sentences its own people to death for one mistake?" gasped Priya.

"SILENCE!" roared the ghost, slashing her with a shadowy sword that appeared out of thin air.

"Priya, quick! Try and get the spear back from him!" I shouted.

But it was too late. I felt myself grow weaker and my armour vanished. The ghost advanced on me, still clutching my trident. There was nothing I could do. Without my powers or any sort of weapon, I can't fight.

My people have always been pacifists… Except for our most elite warriors, like my brother, who was Noiro's chosen champion. They were the enforcers and peacekeepers on my world, but even they only used violence on very rare occasions when it was absolutely necessary.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Priya get to her feet and cup her hand over her mouth. She pulled out her pistol and fired several shots at the ghost. All of them made contact, but the ghost ignored the pain and jabbed me twice with my trident! Once in the neck and once in the chest.

"NO!" shouted Priya, firing shot after shot at the ghost.

Finally, after three of them hit him in the head, the ghost collapsed to the ground, dead. The trident clattered to the floor. Priya ran over to me and got down on her knees.

" **Priya Underwood"**

"Zeke!" I squealed, "Say something!"

"I have failed…" he said, his voice echoing weakly in my mind, "Priya… Give me your hand. I don't have much time left."

I gave him my hand, and he struggled to grab it with both of his hands.

"Noiro!" shouted Zeke loudly but weakly, "I choose Priya Underwood, of Earth to be my successor. Imbue her with all my knowledge and memories!"

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Exactly… What it looks like…" said Zeke weakly, "I'm passing my memories to you…"

"Why me?"

"Because I know things that will be crucial in the war against the Crusaders," he said, "And because I know you want to stop them just as much as I did."

"I can't…" I said, a tear forming in the corner of my eye.

"You can," said Zeke, "Now go. Yuna needs your help."

Zeke's voiced trailed off and he suddenly became very cold to the touch. I carefully put him down and gasped when I saw that he had turned black!

Curiously, I grabbed the trident.

"Hello Priya." said a sinister sounding voice in my head as soon as I touched it.

"Zeke?" I gasped.

"No," said the voice, "I am Noiro, the God of Darkness from the home world of Ezekiel."

"Um, hello?" I said.

"Although he only served me for a short while," said Noiro, "I will still grant his dying wish and transfer his knowledge and memories to you."

"What about the powers of the Warrior of Darkness?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, I cannot have you take his place as my new champion," said Noiro, "Your species is incompatible with my power."

"Incompatible?"

"Your molecular makeup is significantly less developed than that of the Praetons."

"Praetons?"

"That is the name of the species that inhabit the planet called Praetoria in Dimension 12," said Noiro, "On Praetoria, I was a member of a pantheon alongside eleven other deities and worshipped daily."

"Alright, I understand. I guess I'm ready." I said.

I felt a strange sensation, it was like something was flowing through me. I saw thousands of moving pictures that were playing in reverse and then it suddenly stopped.

"It is done," said Noiro, "Without a champion, I must go back into hibernation."

"Wait! Yuna still needs me!" I pleaded.

"I already told you, your body would be unable to contain my powers," said Noiro, "I sense that you already possess the strength you seek. All you need to do is unlock it."

I stood up and looked around. There were no more guards or any sign of soldiers, but I know that on my own, I'd have no chance of rescuing her. Maybe Noiro was right. Maybe I can do this.

"Zeke trusted me with his memories," I said to myself, "He saw potential in me... I won't let him down. Yuna needs my help!"

Near my left foot, a pillar of pink 0s and 1s had appeared. I had never seen anything like it before, but strangely, I felt a sense of belonging to it and instinctively knelt so I could touch the pillar.

"Please don't vaporize my hand, please don't vaporize my hand…" I muttered as I stuck my entire hand inside the glowing pillar.

The energy was rejuvenating and warm. It was soothing my nerves and giving me an even bigger confidence boost. I felt something solid on my palm, so I pulled out my hand and saw a curious pink crystal resting on it.

This must have been what was calling out to me. It must have appeared to help me rescue Yuna. I clutched it tightly and it glowed brightly in my hand.

Suddenly, the gem sent out a swirling tornado of 0s and 1s. It kept swirling faster and faster becoming more and more, narrow as it did so until it collided with me in a small explosion. I felt myself rocket into the air, and as I rose, a pink suit materialized on my body. When I landed back down, I had a matching helmet too.

"Did I just transform into a… Power Ranger?" I gasped.

I felt another surge and moments later, I felt strong. Strong enough to fight my way to Yuna and rescue her.

Zeke's body was gone now. I suppose if I had known him longer, I would be sadder. But I was more confused than anything. I looked at my gloved hand and made a fist.

"Hang tight, babe," I said, "I'm coming for you!"

I had to keep moving, Yuna is strong like an amazon, but I don't know if she's strong enough to resist against someone that enjoys causing pain.

 **"Yuna Murphy"**

I opened my eyes when I heard someone snapping their fingers in front of me.

"Welcome back," said Astrid condescendingly, "I thought you died, but you were just sleeping and when you sleep, I can't hurt you anymore."

"I can't wait until the others come rescue me…" I sighed, "I'll have front row seats when they come and kick your sadistic ass."

Astrid slapped me again.

"I've had enough of this!" she roared, "Cranius! Get in here now! I need you to extract this stubborn brat's memories!"

There was a loud crash as a door was kicked open. I focused my eyes and saw what looked like Riley in his ranger suit. He was holding someone by the throat that I would imagine was Cranius.

"Cranius?" asked Astrid curiously.

Red dropped whatever he was holding, and it collapsed to the floor.

"NO!" shrieked Astrid.

Red ran forward towards me.

"YUNA!" he shouted.

I was expecting his voice, but I heard a different one didn't sound right, at first, I thought I recognized it. I could've sworn that his suit had a skirt like mine, but I was probably just imagining things.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"So, this is your so-called rescue!?" sneered Astrid, "PATHETIC!"

"One is more than enough." said Red.

Astrid ran towards him, but he grabbed her with his one hand.

"Aeris?" asked Red, sounding very confused.

"How dare you touch me, you filthy human!?" roared Astrid.

"What's the matter, bitch?" asked Red, "Did you tucker yourself out by torturing my girlfr-er, I mean by torturing my good friend Yuna?"

He threw Astrid over his shoulder as if she were a piece of trash. Now that I think about it, that might be insulting to pieces of trash. Anyone that can murder millions of innocent people doesn't deserve to live.

But we both knew that even tired, Astrid would still wipe the floor with us. It's a miracle Red even managed to grab her without getting cut in half.

He jogged over to me and ripped the metal clamps that had been trapping me to the wall for what felt like years. They broke so easily it made me feel like maybe I didn't try hard enough to break them.

"Let's get you out of here." said Red, reaching for my broken arm.

"No, not that arm," I whimpered, "That one is broken. Take my other arm."

"What do you think you're doing!?" shrieked Astrid, getting to her feet, "I'm not done with her yet!"

"Download weapon." said Red.

Instead of a sword, his weapon was… A boomerang? It flew towards Astrid and sliced her leg. Then it flew back into Red's outstretched hand.

"Who are you?" I whimpered again, "You're not Riley!"

"Don't worry about that," he said, "We're on the same side."

Red picked me up and held me like a baby. He stood there momentarily as he was thinking.

"What are you waiting for?" I asked.

"I need to figure out how to get out of here." he said.

Something was definitely fishy here. How could he not know how to teleport?

"Who are you!?" I demanded again.

"Zeke is dead," they said, "He died trying to save you. But I inherited his memories and then this weird pink crystal appeared and the next thing I knew, I transformed into this."

"Zeke is… dead?"

"He died saving my life," they said, "I'll explain everything later."

Suddenly, both of us transformed into colour coded swarms of binary and flew through the back wall of the Dauntless' torture chamber, rocketing down towards Earth. As we flew, we could see Metro City in the distance…


	19. Lullaby

Headquarters, Sector 0  
Metro City, Canada  
September 13th, 2018  
7:02 AM

 **"David Sawyer"**

We were all in awe. Yuna was back! They teleported through the ceiling as if they jumped off the Crusader's hovercraft and landed smack dab in the middle of Headquarters. Someone was carrying Yuna, and when Jenna rushed over to them, they silently transferred her into Jenna's arms.

"God, sweetie, what the hell did she do to you?" said Jenna.

"Jenna," said Yuna, "I didn't tell her anything."

"We wouldn't blame you either way." said Jenna.

"I don't know who you are, but you rescued Yuna." I said.

"I can't tell you how grateful I am," said Chloe, "You saved her, but… Who are you?"

"Power down." they said.

Identically to what it looks like when we power down, the stranger's pink suit disappeared. The person in the pink suit was a gorgeous Indian girl. I didn't recognize her.

She was wearing a strange outfit. It looked like she just found various articles of clothing and started wearing them. The girl took off a mask that had been hiding her face.

"This raises more questions than it answers." I said.

"Back off, bro, I saw her first!" said Oz, stepping in front of me.

"No, you didn't." I said.

"Shut up!" said Oz, "Just let me have this one! I'm the only one without a girlfriend."

"Oz don't talk about her like that, she's standing right there." said Rachel.

"PRIYA!?" gasped Yuna, jumping off the cot that Jenna had placed her on.

"Yuna! Come back! You're in no condition!" protested Jenna.

"Hey babe," said the girl, "I know this must be a shock."

"This is impossible…" muttered Yuna, "You're dead. I left you back in 2041. None of this is real! The Crusaders still have me and are trying to trick me with hallucinations!"

"I'm real, Yuna." said Priya.

"Prove it!" sobbed Yuna, collapsing to her knees and sobbing.

Priya walked over to her and grabbed her arm gently. Yuna let Priya pull her to her feet. They stared deeply into each other's eyes. Then Priya leaned in for a passionate kiss right on the lips. But Yuna didn't kiss back.

"What's wrong?" asked Priya.

"I thought you were dead," she said, "I've moved on."

"Oh?" asked Priya.

"You saw the whole thing babe, she kissed me!" announced Yuna to the room.

"Yeah, I saw," said Chloe, walking over, "Not that I'd blame you. She is gorgeous."

"Thanks." said Priya softly.

"Nice to meet you, Priya," said Chloe, holding out the only hand she could, "I'm Chloe Baldwin, the Orange Ranger."

"Priya Underwood." said Priya, shaking Chloe's hand.

"That's a unique name for…"

"For an Indian chick?" suggested Priya, "Yeah, I know. I was born in Bengaluru but raised in Toronto."

"So, you're the best of both worlds," said Oz, "The beauty of India, and the culture of Canada."

"Must you hit on every woman you see?" snapped Riley.

"I'm a man, I have needs," said Oz, "Plus, I've never slept with a native girl before."

"She's not native, you idiot, she's from India, so she's Indian." said Rachel.

"They don't like to be called that." said Oz.

"You're thinking of Native Americans, dude." said Riley.

"As… Flattered as I am with your offer, I don't play for your team. Sorry." said Priya.

Oz snapped his fingers and went over into the corner to sulk.

"Can we get back to the elephant in the room?" I asked, "I'd like some answers too. Where's Zeke? How are you a Power Ranger? Why did Yuna think you're dead?"

"What elephant?" asked Yuna.

"It's a figure of speech." said Silver, walking up behind her.

"Oh."

"Here, Yuna," said Silver, "I've kept them warm for you. Once you put it back on, you should feel better instantly."

Yuna took her codec and Digitizer from him and put them back on. She let out a sigh of relief.

"I'll start with the easy questions," said Priya, "Zeke is dead… He died trying to rescue Yuna. When I travelled back here from 2041, I arrived inside the Crusader's hovercraft. I didn't know how to get down to Earth, so I stayed in there and spied on them."

"Zeke is dead?" I sputtered.

"He died a hero. And with his dying words, he passed on his memories to me," said Priya, "Then this weird pink crystal came and transformed me, so used it to rescue Yuna."

"Why you?" asked Riley.

"He said that some of his memories would be crucial to defeating the Crusaders," said Priya, "Since I was the only person around, I became his only choice.

"I can't believe Zeke is dead." said Rachel.

"I just met him a few hours ago," said Priya, "But I know how it feels."

"We didn't really know him either," I said, "But he was a loyal friend and invaluable source of information."

"That's probably why he transferred his memories to me." said Priya.

"I didn't know he could do that." said Chloe.

"Well, he was psychic." said Riley.

"How did you get here, Pri?" asked Yuna, "You told me to leave you behind and run. So, I did. I left you for dead. That was the hardest thing I've ever had to do."

"It was Captain Bishop." said Priya.

"What did you just say?" sputtered Riley.

"Captain Bishop?" asked Priya.

"That's my sister. When I was little, she used to send me on 'missions' while we were playing," said Riley, "She was Captain Bishop and I was Private Riley."

"I remember that…" said Rachel.

"Yeah, she did tell us that she was the brother of the Red Ranger." said Yuna.

"Captain Bishop knew that we were fighting a losing battle," said Priya, "She knew, just like Yunie did, that the only way we would ever win is by going back in time."

"But there are no time machines left in 2041," said Yuna, "The Crusaders made sure of that. But they never destroyed all those novelty Quantex medallions."

"That last mission was all part of the Captain's plan," said Priya to Yuna, "The goal was to motivate you into going back in time. But I told her that the only way that it would ever work was if you thought I was dead."

"Everything that happened that night?" asked Yuna, "That was all a because of some plan that I didn't even know about?"

"Yuna, you have to understand," said Priya, "Us falling in love, that was real. The way I feel about you is real. Our relationship is real. The only fake things are what you saw that night."

"So, then Captain Bishop knew that I'd join you on the solo mission all along!?" sobbed Yuna, "And the scavengers abducting me?"

"Actually, that wasn't supposed to happen," said Priya, "It was supposed to be that I ran ahead to scout for danger and just… Never come back. The scavengers complicated things, but I was able to course correct and everything worked out like it supposed to."

"You got stabbed!" gasped Yuna.

"There was a first aid kit in the bag," said Priya, "Once you were gone, I patched myself up and went back to base just in time to see the Crusaders launch a missile at it."

"So now you and I really are some of the last survivors…" muttered Yuna.

"Whoa… I just got hit with a surge of memories," said Priya, "I didn't know what it meant until now, but when I saw Astrid's face for the first time after receiving Zeke's memories, I remembered something from his past."

"What are you talking about?" asked Riley.

"If he had survived long enough to see her face like I did," she continued, "I think he would have recognized Astrid."

"Why?" asked Rachel, "Who is she?"

"His former lover." said Priya.

"How can that be?" asked Rachel, "Zeke specifically told us that he was the only survivor of his world."

"Yeah, but he was wrong last time. He probably only said that because he didn't find any survivors." said Oz, who had come back to stand with us.

"But if Astrid is from Zeke's planet, then why doesn't she look like Zeke?" asked Chloe.

"Probably because the Oracles mutated her as well as brainwashed her," said Priya, "Plus, remember how Zeke said that there was no Astrid when they attacked his world?"

"Yes of course," said Silver, "It's all starting to make sense now. When the Crusaders attacked Zeke's world, they took the only two survivors with them. One must have been the agent that gave Chloe her psychic powers, and the other must have been Astrid."

"Who are the Oracles?" I asked.

"I know that one," said Yuna, wincing from the pain of her injuries momentarily, "The Oracles are the highest-ranking members of the Children of Psion. The Crusaders report to them."

"If the Crusaders report to these Oracles, why is this the first time we're hearing of them?" asked Jenna.

"Because they aren't aboard the Dauntless," said Yuna, "Oh and by the way guys, that's the name of their hovercraft. Astrid told me."

"So maybe we should be going after the Oracles instead of the Crusaders." said Oz.

"That wouldn't accomplish anything," said Yuna, "The Crusaders are the real threat, all the Oracles do is choose their targets."

"I think I know how we can beat Astrid now," said Rachel, "If we can somehow undo whatever the Oracles did to her, maybe she'll change back to her original form?"

"Priya, you mentioned a pink crystal?" asked Silver, "If it's what I think it is, then your new powers and knowledge will be pivotal in our battle… Will you join us?"

"Of course." said Priya.

"Then if you don't mind, I'd like to take a look at your pink crystal." said Silver.

"Uh, okay," said Priya, "I don't even know what it is, it just appeared out of nowhere."

"It's called a codec," said Silver, "And it didn't appear out of nowhere, you summoned it to you from Cyberspace."

"He's our tech guy," said Yuna, "He invented our morphers and figured out how to safely harness power from the codecs."

I watched curiously as Priya handed Silver her codec. Silver brought it over to his computer and inserted it into the same slot he puts ours into to make changes.

"Interesting…" mumbled Silver, "There's something bizarre about this codec…"

"Uh, guys?" asked Chloe from back on her cot, "Come listen to this."

I walked over to her. Riley, Oz and Rachel followed behind me. Priya stayed where she was. She was watching Silver tinker with the pink trident.

Chloe and Yuna were sitting side by side on one cot. They were sharing headphones that were attached to Chloe's phone.

"I was listening to music on the radio when they interrupted the broadcast." said Chloe, unplugging the headphones so that we could all hear.

"We're getting reports that a massive creature, at least 200 feet tall is rampaging through Sector 21. For some reason, anytime police or soldiers get near it, they immediately fall into a deep sleep," said the reporter, "No matter what sort of weapons they try, the creature sustains no lasting damage."

"Sloth…" whispered Yuna, "He's here."

"Sloth?" asked Oz, "Isn't that the deformed guy from the Goonies?"

"It's also one of the seven deadly sins," I said, "She must be talking about the Sin Lieutenant."

Yuna nodded.

"What do you know about him, babe?" asked Chloe.

"While he sleeps, he generates some kind of force field that renders him invincible," said Yuna, "The only way to hurt him is to wake him up. But he's a very heavy sleeper."

"Sloth picked a hell of a time to show up." I said.

"What do you mean?" asked Yuna.

"We're two rangers down." I said.

"But my arm doesn't even hurt anymore." said Yuna.

"That doesn't matter," I said, "You need rest to give your codec time to heal you."

"How much firepower could we possibly need?" snickered Oz.

"Don't judge a book by its cover," said Riley, "I doubt they let just anyone be a Sin Lieutenant."

"Jenna!" called Rachel.

"Yes?" asked Jenna, coming over like a dog returning a thrown ball.

"There's a Sin Lieutenant attacking Sector 21," said Rachel, "While we're gone, make sure that Chloe and Yuna stay here and rest."

Chloe and Yuna both opened their mouths to protest, but Rachel silenced them.

"I don't care," she said, "My decision is final."

"Of course." said Jenna.

"Ready?" asked Riley.

"Ready!" we said loudly.

"Red Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Riley.

"Blue Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Rachel.

"Yellow Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Oz.

"Purple Ranger! CYBER POWER!" I shouted.

Now fully clad in our ranger costumes, we arranged ourselves into the diamond formation and teleported up through the ceiling. As we flew through the sky, we looked down and could see our target already. He really was huge!

"He's taller than the V2!" I said as we landed, "How do we fight something that big?"

"Dude, if you need to be reminded which end of your weapon goes where, you clearly haven't been paying attention." said Yellow.

"Yellow, this is no time for jokes." I said.

"Sorry," he chuckled, "Just trying to lighten the mood."

"Purple has a point though," said Blue, "We've got two problems: the force field Yuna warned us about and the sheer size of Sloth."

"Didn't she say we had to wake him up first?" asked Red.

"Something like that." I said.

Sloth's enormous size was really the only impressive thing about it. It looked like a weird mixture between a sloth and a woolly mammoth. This was the first monster I've seen that walked on four legs.

"What are we waiting for?" asked Yellow, pointing at Blue and me.

"Oh. I get what he's saying." I said.

The three of us stood together and performed the Burst Mode action in complete harmony. If activating Burst Mode was an Olympic event, I feel like we would've won gold for that.

"EXECUTE BURST MODE!" I shouted along with Blue and Yellow.

There were three immense of explosions of coloured light. When they died down, our suits had inverted themselves so that white was now the predominant colour.

"Hey!" snapped Red, "You know I can't do that yet!"

"That's your problem, sweetie." said Blue.

"Yeah, I suppose it is." I heard Red mutter.

"Codec?" I asked, "I don't suppose I can fly while in Burst Mode?"

As the words left my mouth, I soared up into the air, rocketing right towards Sloth's enormous slumbering form. There was purple energy emanating from my boots now.

"Hey slowpokes!" I hollered, "Catch me if you can!"

I peered over my shoulder, Yellow and Blue took off and followed me. Just like when we first morphed and already knew how to use all our powers and equipment. I think Burst Mode does the same thing. Because it didn't take them long to figure out how to fly.

As I neared Sloth, he opened his colossal mouth and yawned with such tremendous force that I was sent flying, landing only a few feet away from where I originally took off.

"Back so soon?" chuckled Red.

"He yawned at me!" I snapped, "Nobody said anything about yawn shockwaves!"

"Sorry, guys," muttered Yuna over the comm system, "I thought Sloth had a literal force field around him while he slept, but I was wrong."

"Yeah, instead he just snores or yawns everything away with shockwaves." I said.

"Ooh!" said Red, jumping up and down in excitement, "I've got an idea!"

I turned to look at him.

"Carry me over to Sloth," he said, "Next time he opens his mouth, use your Burst Mode strength to throw me inside his gaping maw before the shockwaves hit me."

"I get your idea," I said, "You're thinking that maybe he has less defenses inside his body?"

Red nodded.

"Grab on." I said, holding out my hand.

He took my hand and I blasted off again, following in the coloured lines the others left while they flew around. You know how airplanes leave those streaks in the air that you can see from down on the ground? It was like that, only these ones were multi-coloured and matched the rangers that made them.

"I'll get you as close to him as I can!" I announced.

"I'm ready." said Red.

As I neared the same distance away as last time, Sloth opened his mouth wide in a massive yawn. Before the shockwave could hit me, I hurled Red towards the cavern sized opening. It felt just as satisfying as getting a ball in the highest point hole in Skee-Ball. Or at least it would have been if Red had managed to get inside Sloth's mouth.

The same shockwaves that I flew away to avoid hit him and he got sent flying like I had the first time I tried approaching Sloth's mouth.

"Ow… Regroup down here with me!" said Red into the comm system.

I flew down to the same part of Sector 21 that we originally arrived in. Blue and Yellow landed shortly after I did. We jogged over to Red.

"We need to try something sneakier." he said.

"Sneakier how?" I asked.

"Sneakier as in giving Sloth a dose of the same sleep toxin the Crusaders used against me?" suggested Yellow.

We all looked at him in complete disbelief.

"What?" he asked, "I have my moments."

"You still have some of that stuff?"

"A very small amount," said Yellow, "Purple, Michelle was able to synthesize an anti-venom for Red's mutant bug bite. Do you think she can make more sleep toxin?"

"It's definitely worth a try," I said, "But, wouldn't giving Sloth sleep toxin make it harder for us to wake him up?"

"No, because the toxin would allow us to enter Sloth's subconscious." said Yellow.

"It's brilliant," said Red, "That might be how we disable those stupid shockwaves."

"There's just one problem," said Blue, "What do we do about Sloth while Michelle works on the sleeping toxin?"

"We need someone to keep him busy." said Yellow.

"But who can do that? We're already short handed as it is." I asked.

From above Sloth's head, a flurry of pink binary flew down and reconfigured itself into Priya. I noticed that she was now wearing clothes instead of rags and had a Digitizer on her wrist.

"I'll volunteer," she said, excitedly, "Silver gave my codec all the same features yours have! I can't wait to test them out!"

"Don't keep us in suspense." I said.

Priya nodded at me. It looked like Silver had given her my old morpher, complete with the clutch and the key. But he probably modified it so it would be equal in functionality to our newer models. Even Priya's morphing action was identical to what I used to do.

"PINK RANGER POWER!" she shouted.

The transformation was the only part that was different. When Priya morphed, she went through the same process as the other rangers and how I USED to before Silver replaced my Digitizer.

"Cool…" muttered Yellow.

Pink held out her hands and a pair of spiked boxing gloves appeared on them, just like how our weapons materialize in our hands when we summon them.

"This feels incredible!" she announced, "I was in shock last time I transformed, so I never noticed until just now."

"I've already added her to the Mainframe," said Silver, "Her powers do come from the same source as yours, but for some reason her codec doesn't have any Zords like yours do."

"It seems like when the pink codec was summoned onto the Dauntless, which is capable of interdimensional travel," said Jenna, "It somehow absorbed a bit of the residual energy that allows for interdimensional travel."

"Okay," said Red, "Well, that solves one issue. But we still need to get Michelle working on the sleep toxin and hope that she can copy it."

"Even if she can, we don't know if the sleep toxin will work against Sloth." said Blue.

"It's the best plan we have." I said.

"Don't worry about Sloth's size; I'm all you'll ever need," said Midnight, "My codec says that I can summon a giant shadow beast from another dimension to help us fight."

"That sounds pretty cool." said Yellow.

"Yeah, I'm itching to try it out." said Pink.

"Fair enough," I said, "Let me call Michelle."

I ran into a building behind us and pulled out my cell phone. Michelle was on speed dial, so I pressed and held her associated button.

"Hey babe!" she said when she answered.

"We need your help again," I told her, "You up for some thrilling heroics?"

"I'm a doctor. I do heroic stuff every day," she said, "What's in it for me?"

"A shiny nickel and a homecooked meal?" I suggested.

"Okay, but frozen pizza doesn't count as homecooked." she teased.

"It was delicious though." I said.

"I'll head over to Headquarters right away." she giggled.

"Purple, tell Michelle that the syringe of sleep toxin is hidden in the stuffing of the middle cushion of the couch in Headquarters," said Yellow, "I've been meaning to let her look at it, but I kept forgetting."

I texted this new information to Michelle, who responded with a smiley face.

"Alright, newbie," said Red, to Pink, "Let's see this shadow beast of yours."

Pink pointed her weapons skyward.

"AWAKEN THE BEAST!" she shouted.

More loud thunder rumbling. The sky darkened as the sun was covered by dark clouds that appeared as soon as Pink pointed to the sky. From inside the black clouds, I saw a pair of sinister red eyes glow.

"Whoa…" muttered Blue.

The thunder died down as a deafening roar echoed in the sky. The sky returned to normal and now we could see that standing right next to Pink, there was a black shadow monster. It looked nearly identical to Gamera, except with glowing red eyes.

"Silver how come she gets a badass monster!?" whined Yellow.

"Because your codec didn't absorb energy from the Dauntless." said Pink, answering for Silver.

"Want to trade?" asked Yellow.

"That wouldn't work even if she did want to." said Silver.

"Oh, right…" sighed Yellow, "Can I at least ride the beast someday?"

"Um… Maybe?" asked Pink.

"What's its name?" I asked.

"I don't know if it has one…" said Pink, "But you're right. It does need one."

"How about Raphael?" suggested Red.

"You're only saying that because you're the Red Ranger." snorted Yellow.

"I am not." snapped Red.

"I like it. Raphael is cool," I said, "Plus, his red bandana matches the beast's eyes."

"What do you think?" asked Blue to Pink.

"Raphael…" she muttered, "It does have a nice ring to it."

She looked over her shoulder at the giant beast that was waiting patiently for instructions. Pink snapped her fingers and the beast reached down to gently pick her up.

"Ready, Raphael!?" she asked the beast.

It roared loudly while placing her on a small platform that was protruding from the top of the beast's head.

"I think he likes the name!" she announced from Raphael's head, "Okay, buddy! Let's go kick Sloth's massive, lazy ass!"

 **"Michelle Masters, MD"**

Yuna and Chloe were peering over my shoulder while I worked.

"You two should be resting," I said, "I can tell just by looking at both of you that you've got broken bones."

"Resting is boring." sighed Yuna.

"What are you doing, anyway?" asked Chloe.

"Chemistry," I said, "I just hope this works."

"Why wouldn't it work?" asked Yuna, "Did you make a mistake?"

"Nothing like that," I said, "But this is extremely complicated. It's like the Crusaders created new elements by combining two parent elements together. These children elements, for lack of a better world, have the properties of both parents, but are more potent than either parent."

"Either I'm dumb, or she's really smart," said Yuna, "Because that made my head hurt."

"You're not dumb, honey, my head hurts too." said Chloe.

"Would you believe that I only got a B- in Grade 12 Chemistry?" I chuckled.

"If the recipe calls for elements that don't exist on Earth, is it still possible to create a homebrewed version?" asked Chloe.

"Yes," I said, "The parent elements all exist on Earth, so it's not impossible, but our version won't be as powerful as this stuff."

"Shouldn't be a big deal," said Chloe, "We'll just give Sloth a bigger dose to compensate for it."

"I can also dilute it, but that would take longer," I said, "That's time we don't have."

 **"David Sawyer"**

Raphael roared ferociously and dashed forwards. Sloth's eyes opened gradually as Pink and the beast got closer. Sloth yawned again, sending significantly faster and larger shockwaves towards Raphael, but Pink commanded the beast to dodge them before they could hit.

"Atomic Blaster!" commanded Pink.

Raphael opened his mouth wide and fired a beam of energy at Sloth. Sloth opened his mouth and reflected the blast with more shockwaves. Then Sloth jumped and slammed back down, causing an earthquake!

"What's his problem?" asked Yellow.

"He's probably grumpy because we're disturbing his sleep." I said.

"I was expecting him to more active." said Blue.

"No way," said Red, "He's the Sin Lieutenant for Sloth."

"Oh yeah," chuckled Blue, "You're so smart, babe."

After the earthquake subsided, Pink commanded Raphael to tackle Sloth, but it countered with another yawn. Yuna must not have known about that attack, or she would have warned us about it.

Sloth roared, ripped a skyscraper out of the ground and threw it at us like a spear. All we could do was dive out of the way. After that, our Burst Mode subsided, leaving us feeling very drained.

"Wow that really takes it out of you…" I panted.

"Hey! Leave them alone!" shouted Pink, "C'mon boy, hit Sloth with another Atomic Blaster!"

"Priya," I heard Yuna mutter over the comm system, "He's not a dog, he's a giant shadow beast from an alternate dimension. You don't even know if it's a boy or a girl. Or if it even has a gender."

"The only pet I've ever had was dog," said Priya, "And I loved that dog."

"That's not a problem," said Yellow, "All you have to do is call it. If she answers, it's a girl, but if he answers, it's a boy."

Everybody groaned. Even though I couldn't see Yellow's face, I would imagine there was a cheeky grin on it.

"Wow," said Yellow, "Tough crowd."

"How's the chemistry coming, babe?" I sighed, "Do you have a ballpark guess?"

"A few more minutes," said Michelle, "The technology to make a flawless copy doesn't exist yet, so my version isn't as potent, and Sloth is so massive that we need to compensate by giving him a size appropriate dosage."

"You'll need the Megazord to inject Sloth," said Silver, "The syringe I'm designing is over 20 feet tall."

"Well hurry up before Yellow tells another joke!" snapped Blue.

Sloth was stomping his front two feet, causing shockwaves on the ground as well as smaller earthquakes. Pink commanded Raphael to shoot a barrage of those weird energy beams at Sloth, most of which were direct hits that had little effect.

"It's Megazord time, Silver." said Red.

"Affirmative." said Silver.

"Download Data Zord!" I called, "Mark 1!"

"Download Data Zord!" called Jenna, from Headquarters, "Mark 2!"

"Download Data Zord!" called Yellow, "Mark 3!"

"Download Data Zord!" called Silver, also from Headquarters, "Mark 4!"

"Download Data Zord!" called Blue, "Mark 5!"

"Download Data Zord!" called Red, "Mark 6!"

"Commence V2 Megazord transformation sequence!" we announced together.

We all hopped into the cockpits of our respective Zords. As they began to assemble themselves, it felt like I was lifted above the action to observe the transformation, even though I hadn't really moved anywhere.

With the transformation complete, it was like I had been dreaming everything I had just seen. I opened my eyes and found that I was still sitting at my station in the Megazord's cockpit.

"Cyberspace Megazord V2, online!" we announced in unison.

It felt a little empty in the cockpit because Orange and Green were out of action. Silver and Jenna were controlling their Zords remotely, but that only means we won't be at a disadvantage. It doesn't fill the gap left behind their undeniable absence.

"It's ready!" announced Michelle's voice.

"Stand by Rangers," said Silver, "The syringe is en route."

A massive syringe materialized in front of us. Yellow and I used our steering devices to make the Megazord reach out a take the syringe.

"Now all we need is an opening," said Red, "We'll only get one chance at this."

"We need to distract Sloth so he won't counter with his stupid yawns." I said.

"I agree," said Silver, "Michelle made it clear that we'll only get one chance at this."

"She can't make another dose?" asked Yellow.

"Not without another sample like the one you gave me!" shouted Michelle in headquarters so that we could hear through the comm system.

"Michelle, please don't scream like that," sighed Silver, "If you want to say something to them, take one of the spare headsets. That's what they're there for."

The Megazord was now holding the syringe high above its head.

"Newbie!" shouted Red into his console, "You need to keep him distracted! We'll only get one chance at this!"

"You heard the man, Raphael!" shouted Pink from atop the beast's head, "Let's give them a golden opportunity!"

I watched curiously as she commanded Raphael to unleash a volley of laser beams at Sloth. Sloth roared angrily and turned on Pink and the beast.

"This is as good a chance as any!" I announced, "What do you say, leader?"

"Yellow and Purple, ready the syringe and inject on my mark." he said.

I nodded at Yellow and we raised the Megazord's arms in perfect unison.

"Five." said Red.

Raphael fired wave after wave of lasers at Sloth. They weren't causing any lasting damage, but they were nevertheless keeping him distracted.

"Four." said Red.

"ThreeTwoOne!" blurted out Blue, "Just do it guys, before Sloth turns around!"

We used our consoles and jabbed the enormous needle deep into the flesh of Sloth's back. Red's theory was right, the force field that Yuna warned us about wasn't really a force field. She was misinformed; Sloth didn't have a barrier, but it did have shockwaves that make attacking it head on extremely difficult.

Sloth squealed in agony and then became very quiet. Once every last drop had been injected, we pulled out the syringe and stepped back to see what would happen. Sloth writhed and flailed, we saw that he was shrinking down rapidly. By the time he stopped moving, he was only about 7 feet tall.

"That was cool." muttered Yellow.

"Is he dead?" asked Blue.

"I doubt it," said Red, "He's probably sleeping and having horrible nightmares."

"Why did he shrink?" I asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine," said Red, "But it certainly makes our job easier."

"I was totally not expecting that," said Yellow, "I figured we'd be able to enter his dreams and fight him that way."

"Maybe agents of the Crusaders are immune to that part of the sleep toxin?" I suggested.

"Not that it really matters," said Yellow, "We still won."

"Let's finish sleeping beauty here off." said Blue.

"Come on down, newbie!" shouted Red, "Send Raphael back where he/she/it came from and join us down here."

"Affirmative!" came Pink's chipper voice.

She jumped and performed several flips in the air before landing in front of us with her arms held out on either side like a gymnast landing a fancy move.

"Care to do the honours?" asked Red.

"Nah," she said, "I don't have any finishing moves, but I'll settle for court side seats."

We can summon the VR directly without needing to have our weapons out first. Instead of the weapons materializing in our hands, they appear as a flurry of data. The different streams combined, reshaped and solidified into the Virus Reaper.

"Virus Reaper, online!" we announced in unison.

I grabbed one of the handles as we took aim. The familiar laser sight showed us the path the bolt would follow once we pulled the trigger. We positioned ourselves so that we were looking at Sloth face to face. He was still out cold, it was now or never.

We were two rangers down, but because each of us have access to two weapons, a total of twelve different ones make up the bolt. Even at 67% total strength, it should still be plenty strong enough to annihilate Sloth once and for all.

"Five… Four…" said Red.

"Three… Two…" said Yellow.

"One…" said Blue.

"FIRE!" I shouted.

With an electronic twanging sort of sound, the VR shot the bolt. There was a loud boom as the bolt broke the sound barrier. It went clean through Sloth's head and emerged on the other side before returning to us like a boomerang. Sloth became very still as he slowly disappeared.

"Nice shot." said Pink simply.

"Let's head back to HQ." I said,

After powering down and sending the VR back to Cyberspace, we all teleported back to Silver's basement. Michelle was waiting for me with a massive grin on her face. I ran over to her and hugged her tightly.

"David, I have something I need to tell you." she whispered in my ear, leading me up the stairs to the main floor so the others wouldn't be able to hear us.

"What is it?" I whispered back.

"…I'm pregnant."

I let go of her and took a few giant steps back. Michelle looked at me apprehensively.

"Did you hear me?" she asked firmly.

"Yeah, I heard you." I chuckled.

"Well?" she asked impatiently, placing her hands on her hips.

"This is amazing, babe," I said, a tear forming in the corner of my eye, "When did you…?"

"Just today," she said, "I missed my period this month. When you called to recruit me, I was in the bathroom with a couple of tests."

"This might sound like a stupid question," I said, "But do you want to keep it?"

"It's weird," she said, "Last time we talked about having our future, I said I didn't really care one way or another if we ever get married or have kids…"

"Yeah?" I urged her on.

"But now I can feel this new life growing inside me…" she sighed, "It feels incredible."

"Should we tell the others?" I asked.

"You can if you want," she said, "But with Riley and Rachel's wedding so close, I don't want to steal their thunder."

"Let's wait for a while then." I suggested.

She nodded and rubbed her belly lovingly.

"We're going to be parents, David." she squealed, quietly but delightedly.


	20. Mischief

Sector 5, Riel Avenue  
Metro City, Canada  
September 15th, 2018  
11:57 AM

 **"Chloe Baldwin"**

I was standing on the front step of Sebastian's, AKA Exclamation Mark's condo. The other rangers had gone to investigate some strange stories we read about in the newspaper.

Specifically, in the last 72 hours, there have been dozens of lottery winners. Another article that caught our attention was of rumours of a ghost haunting the woman's locker rooms and showers of the community center.

Probably my favourite story was of rabid unicorn sightings in Sector 8, but I drew the short straw, so someone else was looking into that one. There was even a story of a bullied child who was wreaking havoc at an elementary school in Sector 14; something about him having superhuman strength.

As for me, I was about to knock on the door of Sebastian's condo in Sector 5 because the last story that seemed suspicious was a wedding announcement for Sebastian Clark and Maggie Locklear, winner of the 2017 Miss Canada pageant.

I knocked three times on the door. A few seconds later, a gorgeous girl pulled it open and looked at me curiously.

"Hello," I said cheerily, "I'm Chloe, a friend of Sebastian's. Is he home?"

"Sebastian is MINE!" she snarled.

"You must be the fiancée," I said, holding out my hand, "It's nice to meet you."

"Maggie?" asked Sebastian's voice from somewhere inside, "Who is it?"

I heard footsteps and Sebastian appeared behind Maggie. He threw his arms around her for a big hug and then his eyes met mine.

"Chloe?" he asked, "What brings you here?"

I saw that Maggie was holding up her left hand. There was a beautiful diamond ring glistening on her finger. She probably thought she was being subtle, but I knew immediately that she felt threatened by me and was displaying it to make sure I knew Sebastian was spoken for.

"That, actually," I said, pointing at the ring, "That's quite a rock."

"Nothing but the best for Maggie," said Sebastian proudly, "She's the girl of my dreams."

"How long have you two been dating?" I asked.

"Only a week," said Maggie, answering before Sebastian could, "But I knew it was true love after our first date."

"You don't think you're maybe rushing into things?" I said to Sebastian.

"Well, maybe," he said, "But with the Crusaders looming overhead, we decided to skip the formalities."

I heard a phone ring from inside.

"Honey, why don't you get that?" suggested Sebastian.

Maggie ducked down out of Sebastian's arms. Before she left, she glared at me with venom in her eyes, as if daring me to try something.

Once she was gone, Sebastian joined me outside on the front step and pulled the door closed behind him.

"Miss Canada?" I said accusingly.

"I've been in love with her since I watched the pageant on TV last year," said Sebastian, "But then I made a wish at a well in some Chinese restaurant and the next morning she showed up at my doorstep!"

"And you didn't think there was something suspicious about that?" I said, "No offense, but she is WAY out of your league. Hell, she's even way out of MY league!"

"What? Good things can't happen to good people?" asked Sebastian.

"That's not the point," I said, "What did you wish for specifically?"

"For her to love me more than anything." said Sebastian.

Maggie appeared behind Sebastian without saying anything and shoved a platter of seemingly gourmet food into his hands.

"I thought you might like a snack." she said.

"Wow… Maggie, this is…" said Sebastian, looking down at the platter, "You didn't have to do this. Especially not after the last "snack" you made me an hour ago."

"I know I didn't have to," said Maggie, "Well, no, I-I had to. Because I love you more than anything."

She kissed him on the temple and walked away. But before she left, she glared at me again.

"Have you read the paper lately?" I asked, "The whole town is going crazy."

"I haven't noticed." said Sebastian stubbornly.

"You're telling me your relationship with Maggie is functional?" I snapped, "That it's what you wished for?"

"I wished she would love me more than anything." he said.

"Yeah, and how's that going?" I asked, "Does her behaviour seem healthy to you?"

"Well, it's a lot better than when she didn't know I was alive." said Sebastian.

"You're still in the honeymoon stage right now, but eventually, your relationship will collapse." I said.

"No, it won't," said Sebastian, "Maggie loves me."

"For now," I said, "Give it time. What might seem like paradise right now will soon change. There's a reason why be careful what you wish for is a common saying."

"I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine!" snapped Sebastian with a tone of finality that made it clear he didn't want to talk anymore.

"If you say so," I said as I turned to leave, "But come find me when you snap out of it."

I walked down the cement path and followed it to the main sidewalk. I heard Sebastian slam the door as he went back inside.

"Chloe?" came Rachel's voice, "Do you have something to report?"

"Sebastian mentioned a new Chinese restaurant." I said into my communicator.

"Oz will be happy," said Rachel, "He loves Chinese food. Riley and I will tell everyone to meet up at the new restaurant that opened in Chinatown a few months ago."

"I'll meet you there then," I said, "What's it called?"

"Of Rice and Men…" sighed Rachel.

 **"Sebastian Clark"**

"Maggie? Could you come here for a minute?" I called.

She came from the kitchen into the den while wringing her hands nervously.

"Sit down, okay?" I suggested.

"Yes, love." said Maggie.

"Maggie, are you happy?" I asked.

"I love you more than anything." she said.

"I know. I know," I said, "And I love you. Very much. That's why I want you to start doings things that make… Er, that made you happy before."

"Yes, love, I'll try to be happier," said Maggie, standing up, "I'll start right away."

"No, no, no," I said, standing up and putting my hand on her shoulder, "That's not what I mean."

"Oh, please! Please don't be angry with me!" she sobbed, "You know, I'd just die, I'd just die… I'd die!"

"No, no, no, Maggie, I'm not angry." I said, Chloe's words echoing in my mind.

"Then let me make it up to you," said Maggie with a seductive wink, "Let me make it right."

 **"Chloe Baldwin"**

I found the restaurant without much difficulty. After a few minutes, Oz, Sawyer, Riley and Rachel and even Yuna and Priya all arrived and joined me at the booth I was sitting at. 30 minutes later, the food we ordered for lunch had arrived.

"I'm telling you guys, chicken balls are the genuine article of China." said Oz, bringing his fork which had two chicken balls skewered on it close to his eyes.

"Oz, they're just chicken balls." said Sawyer.

"Don't say that until you've tasted them," said Oz, "Each bite is a warm, salty chicken explosion in your mouth; and you didn't even order anything."

"Living with a doctor has opened my eyes to the horrors of MSG," said Sawyer, pulling out a hidden roast beef sandwich in a plastic bag, "The difference between a quadruple bypass and well, not a quadruple bypass is one bite too much of food drenched in MSG."

"MSG?" asked Yuna and Priya together.

"It's short for monosodium glutamate," said Rachel, "Chinese food restaurants are famous for smothering most of their food in it."

"Makes sense," said Oz, "It's probably the secret to eternal life. I read somewhere that there are Chinese monks who can live to be 115 years old. It must be all the chicken balls they eat."

"Yuna, Priya ignore him," chuckled Rachel, "Anytime he's overwhelmed by food, he gets like this."

"If chicken balls are the secret to anything, it's a heart attack," sighed Sawyer, "Mind you, that's not much of a secret."

Upon hearing this, Oz yelped and covered the non-existent ears of the chicken ball he currently had skewered on his fork.

"Sawyer is just grumpy," he cooed, "He wants to keep us apart, don't listen to him."

Everyone laughed at the ridiculousness of the scene.

"I hate to be a buzzkill," said Riley, "But I think we should focus on the strange stories."

"You're not a buzzkill babe, you're doing your job as our leader," said Rachel, "Sawyer, what did you learn about the lottery winners?"

"It's what you'd expect," he said, "They were all down on their luck and heard rumours about a wishing well that actually grants wishes. But with so many people all winning the same draw, the lottery commission refuses to pay out."

"Future girls, did your investigation yield anything useful?" asked Riley to Yuna and Priya.

"We followed the unicorn tracks and they led us to a house with a little girl, but no parents," said Priya, "We asked where her parents were, and she said they went to Hawaii."

"They way she described it," said Yuna, "It sounds like they went to go pick up a Chinese food order and never came back. But the girl mentioned that her folks always wanted to go to Hawaii."

"I guess if you make a wish at a magic wishing well, there's no waiting." said Sawyer.

"Anyways," said Priya, "The girl's name is Sasha and since she was lonely without her parents, she made her way to the restaurant and wished for a unicorn."

"And she got one," said Yuna, "But it wasn't tame, or friendly."

"Oz?" I asked, snapping my fingers in front of his face to get his attention, "What did you learn about the ghost haunting the women's locker rooms?"

"Oh yeah, that," he said, "I found two of the women that claim to have seen it, and they mentioned that it could talk and even bumped into them."

"Then it's not a ghost," said Riley simply, "Ghosts might talk, but they wouldn't be able to touch anything… At least not without a lot of practice; and since this is a pretty recent thing, there's no way a ghost would have had enough time."

"I think I know what's really going on," said Oz, "It's some 12 or 13-year-old kid that wished to be invisible."

"That's actually quite impressive!" I said to him, giving Oz the thumbs up, "How did you figure that out all by yourself?"

"Because back when I was that age, I would've wished for the exact same thing," said Oz, transferring a few large dollops of brown rice onto his plate, "Either that, or I'd have wished for X-Ray vision so that I wouldn't have to be invisible."

"That just leaves the bullied kid with super strength." I said to Riley and Rachel.

"The kid's name is Billy, but we couldn't find him," said Riley, "But the bullies that were picking on him told us that Billy lifted a school bus over his head and threw it at them."

"Naturally, they're terrified of Billy now," said Rachel, "If I had to guess, it seems like Billy wished that the bullies would be afraid of him, but now he can't control himself."

"In each case, we know that there's at least one person that made a wish." I said.

"Yeah, and it seems like they all made those wishes using the wishing well in this very restaurant." said Sawyer.

Everyone turned their heads to look over their shoulders. Sure enough, in the back of the restaurant was a wishing well with real flowing water.

"Out of my way! I wanna make a wish!" shouted Oz, jogging over to it.

"Oz! Be careful!" I gasped.

"Why?" he asked, looking back at me.

"Something doesn't seem right." I said.

"How can the Crusaders possibly attack us with a wishing well?" he asked.

"I don't know, ask our time travelers."

We all followed in his wake and joined him at the wishing well. Oz was rummaging through his pockets looking for a coin. While he was distracted, I grabbed a quarter from my wallet and dropped it down the chute. I closed my eyes tight and thought to myself:

"I wish that Yuna will choose me over Priya… I want Yuna to tell me she loves me like I did to her last night."

I opened my eyes and let out a sigh just as Oz found a quarter.

"Hey! Chloe, I called dibs!" he whined,

"No you didn't." said Sawyer.

"Fine, then I get to go next." said Oz, dropping the quarter down the chute.

Oz closed his eyes and giggled. Then he started licking his lips hungrily. He opened his eyes and then stared at his watch. After a few minutes, someone opened the front door to the restaurant and walked inside. It was a delivery guy.

"I got an order for a ghost pepper sub with anchovies and black olives!?" he announced to the restaurant at large.

"Over here!" said Oz excitedly, going over to take the bag of food.

"Oz we just ate lunch and you ordered MORE food?" snorted Riley.

"I didn't order it, I WISHED for it." said Oz.

"Anchovies and black peppers… Seriously, Oz?" muttered Rachel,

"Delicious." he said, taking the bag over to our table and unwrapping the sandwich.

"Call me crazy," I said, "But I think this wishing well might actually work."

Riley and Sawyer scratched their chins curiously before they dug around in their pockets for quarters. After a while, Yuna followed suite, even though she looked a little confused about what was going on.

"Priya?" asked Yuna, "Do you need a quarter?"

"I'm not making a wish." said Priya simply.

"Why not?" asked Yuna.

"Because I already have what I would wish for," said Priya, "A second chance to fight the Crusaders and save the planet."

"I'll pass too," said Rachel, "The only thing I would really want is to bring back everyone I love that died. Like Marcus. Or my Mom. Even your parents, honey."

That last part was directed at Riley. Who put his hand over his heart upon hearing Marcus' name and the mention of his parents.

"I miss them too," he said, "But they're at peace now. All of them."

Riley, Sawyer and Yuna approached the well and looked down it.

"How deep do you reckon it goes?" asked Sawyer.

"If you're curious, I can throw you down there." I chuckled.

"So, I just… Throw the coin down the hole and my wish will come true?" asked Yuna.

"Yes, but you have to make the wish as the coin falls," said Rachel, putting her hand on Yuna's shoulder, "By the way, how's your arm?"

"Still really sore, but I can tell that it's healing." said Yuna.

Using the arm that wasn't in a cast, Yuna threw a quarter in the well and closed her eyes.

"I wish I could stay in 2018 after we defeat the Crusaders." she said.

Everyone chuckled quietly.

"Um, sweetie, you're supposed to make the wish in your head." I said.

"Oh… Will it still come true?" she asked.

"I don't know," I said, putting my arm around her for a hug, "Nothing to do now but wait and see."

"Thanks, Chloe," whispered Yuna in my ear, "I love you."

My heart skipped a beat. She actually said it! So far it seems like my wish came true! I tried my best not to show the excitement on my face as I watched Riley and Sawyer each throw a coin into the wishing well.

They closed their eyes to make their wishes. It's times like this where I wish I could still read people's minds. Except for the whole brain swelling and irregular heartbeat part. That part I could do without.

"Uh oh…" moaned Oz, covering his mouth with his hand.

"What's the matter?" asked Priya.

"MAKE WAY!" he screamed, standing up and sprinting to the bathroom.

We stared at the bathroom door that Oz just slammed behind him momentarily before Riley's cell phone ringing caught our attention.

"Hello?" he said upon answering it, "Speaking."

"Are you serious?" he exclaimed quietly, "Yes, absolutely we'll take it! This is fantastic news, thank you so much!"

He hung up the phone and a huge grin broke out on his face. Rachel looked at him expectantly.

"Who was that?"

"Smithton Art Gallery," said Riley, "They had a cancellation, so we're in!"

"OH MY GOD!" shrieked Rachel delightedly, tackling him to the ground for a big hug.

"Babe, there are people watching…" said Riley.

"I don't care." she said, cutting him off with a kiss.

Riley rolled over so that he was on top of Rachel and then pulled her to her feet.

"This is amazing!" she squeaked, "My parents got married there and now so are we!"

"I know," said Riley, "Because I wished for it."

The bathroom door opened, and Oz clambered out. His face was a sickly green and he was sweating profusely.

"The wishes go bad," he whimpered, "The wishes go VERY bad."

"You don't think… The Crusaders?" suggested Priya.

Out of nowhere, Yuna's eyes narrowed into a glare and she fixed her gaze on Priya.

"Priya, this needs to stop!" she announced, "I'm with Chloe now! You need to accept that and move on!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Priya, "You should know that I would never try and steal you from another girl."

"Stop lying!" roared Yuna, "I love Chloe now!"

Yuna grabbed Priya's hair and pulled on it hard. Priya shrieked and tried to break free, but she couldn't. Yuna's grip was too tight. Riley and Sawyer stepped forward to try and break up the fight, but Oz held out his arms in front of them.

"What do you think you're doing?" he said to them, "One of the biggest rules of the guy code is to NEVER, EVER break up a cat fight!"

"Shut up, Oz!" said Riley, "We should be fighting the Crusaders, not each other!"

Yuna kicked Priya in the chest to make some distance between them.

"GREEN RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Yuna.

"Have you lost your mind, Yuna!?" snapped Priya.

"Download weapon." said Yuna, holding out her hand as her spear materialized in her awaiting hand.

"I'm not morphing," muttered Priya, "We're on the same side!"

This was probably my fault. I did wish that Yuna would choose me over Priya, but I never would've thought she would be compelled to hurt Priya as a sign of love. Oz's wish backfired, and now it looks like mine has too.

I left the others to deal with Yuna and Priya. I had an idea; if I throw in another coin, maybe I can make another wish to undo what my last one did? As I weaved in and out of the various tables in the restaurant, I bumped into something.

"Sorry," it said, "I want to undo it. I want to undo it! I can't control it!"

If I didn't know any better, I think the boy that wished to be invisible was here.

"Wait!" I called to him.

"Just leave me alone!" he sobbed.

"Come back!" I called again, "I want to help you!"

I heard footsteps as he walked back over to me.

"How can you help me?" he asked.

"Um…" I said.

The metaphorical light bulb appeared above my head. I unzipped a pocket of my purse and pulled out some lipstick.

"Here," I said, holding it out, "Use this."

"Lipstick?" said the boy.

"Trust me," I said, "Draw on yourself so that people will be able to see you."

"What about reversing my wish?" asked the boy.

"I'm working on it," I said, "You're not the only one whose wish backfired."

I watched with a satisfied smirk as he proceeded to draw all over himself. Now that I had a general idea of where was standing, I held out my hand and he gave me the lipstick back. Then I used it on his lips to give him a smile the Joker.

"Hey!" whined the boy.

"That's what you get for perving on women." I said, putting the lid on the lipstick and returning back into my purse.

"How do I look?" he asked.

"That lipstick is not your colour, but it's better than it was before." I snickered.

"FIGHT BACK!" roared Yuna, still in her ranger costume.

"Wait here." I said to the boy, jogging over to the other side of the restaurant.

Yuna swung at Priya again, but I placed myself in between them and held out my arms like in a T-pose.

"KNOCK IT OFF!" I snapped, turning to look at her, "This isn't what I wanted!"

"She wants me back! She's trying to break us up!"

"No, she isn't, you're under some sort of spell because of the wish I made!" I said firmly, putting my hand on her shoulder, "Now power down so I can see your face."

After a pause, Yuna nodded.

"Power down." she said,

I looked at Priya.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine." she said, nodding.

"Chloe?" asked Yuna, "What exactly did you wish for?"

"I wished that… That you'd uh…" I said, feeling heat in my cheeks as I started blushing, "I wished that you'd tell me you love me and not get back with Priya." I said that last part all in one breath in barely a whisper.

Yuna pulled me in for a hug. But then I noticed that the sunlight for the windows above was being blocked by something, throwing the whole restaurant into shadow until… CRASH!

The wall nearest to us and the largest window shattered and crumbled, sending shards of glass flying several feet towards us. From outside we could see the silhouette of a small boy who was standing there with a frown on his face.

"Billy?" gasped Rachel.

He stomped forward, stepping over the destroyed wall and window.

"He's drunk with power!" gasped Riley, "He can't control himself!"

"Billy, calm down honey, let us help you." cooed Rachel.

As if we didn't already have enough problems, Sebastian came running into the restaurant using the door, which survived Billy's attack. It was the wall next to it that was severely damaged. By this point, all of the diners inside the restaurant were gone, leaving us to deal with the chaos.

"CHLOE! GET DOWN!" hollered Sebastian, tackling me to the ground.

I heard a gunshot and saw another set of legs stomp over to me.

"Sebastian?" I asked, wincing from pain in my shoulder, which still hadn't healed.

"You were right," he said, "Maggie went insane when I mentioned that you and I have known each for a few years. She pulled a gun out of thin air and hijacked my motorcycle."

"She's trying to kill me!?" I gasped, "What did I ever do to her!?"

"Nothing," said Sebastian, "She's completely lost her mind."

"Yeah, that's what love does to people," I said, "Especially when you wish for them to love you more than anything."

As I got to my feet, I saw that Priya and Yuna had worked together to disarm Maggie. Oz and Sawyer were holding her arms behind her back to stop her from attacking me.

"I want to undo my wish," said Sebastian, "Have you figured out how to stop it?"

"I was about to try taking back the coin I used when Billy over there destroyed the restaurant." I said.

"Let's both try." said Sebastian, nodding at me.

Rachel and Riley were trying to calm Billy down, but it wasn't working. He roared and kicked a table across the restaurant. The invisible perv came to join us by the well.

"Is it time?" asked the floating lipstick.

"It's time," I said, "But I have no idea if this will work."

I tried to reach down into the water for the shiny coins, but I couldn't reach, especially not with my shoulder in a sling and sore from Sebastian tackling me to save me from Maggie.

"I can't reach!" I moaned, wincing again from the pain.

"Let me try." said the lipstick smear, "Hold my legs and lower me down. I drew down there, so you should be able see them."

I did see what he was talking about, but because I only had one good arm, I gestured to Sebastian to grab one of the boy's legs while I grabbed the other. We started lowering him down the well together.

"What's your name, kid?" I called to him.

"Noah!" he called back to me.

"I hope you understand how wrong it is to spy on women."

"I'm curious, not stupid," said Noah, "That's why I need this to wear off, if my mom finds out what I've been up to she'll kill me."

We were making decent progress, when suddenly a beam of energy erupted from the well that launched Noah several feet in the air. The force of the blast made us lose our grip on his ankles.

"WHO DARES INTERFERE!?" boomed a comical sounding voice.

There was an explosion of confetti that came out of nowhere. When it blew, it made the sound of a kazoo, instead of what you would expect it to sound like. Standing in front of the well was a weaselly man with a big nose and slightly bucked teeth.

"Who is that?" asked Sebastian, pointing at him.

"I have no idea." I said.

Sebastian grabbed Maggie from the others and carried her out of the restaurant, presumably to safety. The lipstick marked Noah followed after him.

"I am Loki!" announced the man.

"Loki?" asked Sawyer.

"As in the Norse God?" snickered Riley incredulously.

"I am no god," squealed Loki mockingly, "I am an agent of the Crusaders!"

"And here I was thinking this had nothing to do with you freaks." I said.

"I placed a delightful curse on this well that forces me to grant any wish anyone makes when they a coin in… But they come true in the worst way imaginable," laughed Loki hysterically, "I was reveling in the chaos until you vermin tried to spoil my fun."

"Guys," said Oz, "You know what this means, right?"

"Yup," said Yuna eagerly, "If we break this nutjob, we break his curse too."

"Chloe, why don't you and Yuna babysit Billy while we fight Loki?" suggested Rachel.

"No way! I want in on this!" I protested.

"Out of the question," said Riley, "Your shoulder still hasn't fully healed yet."

"I can still fight!"

"Well I can't," admitted Yuna, "I think I made my arm worse while fighting Priya."

"Fine," I sighed, "We'll babysit."

Billy snarled and swung his arms wildly. Oz had performed some sort of Vulcan nerve pinch on him after he destroyed the wall, but now he was trying to start rampaging again. Just when I thought we had enough to deal with, the unicorn that I never got to see came running into the store, lowered its head and ran towards Billy.

"Horsey!" he squealed delightedly, grabbing it by the horn.

He proceeded to smash the unicorn against the floor exactly like Bam Bam from The Flintstones. Only except of the floor, every time Billy slammed the unicorn behind me, he would smash it directly on Loki.

"Well that solves one problem," I chuckled, "Billy is preoccupied! Now's your chance!"

"Ready?" asked Riley to Oz, Rachel, Sawyer and Priya.

"Ready!" they replied, positioning themselves into the 5-person formation.

"RED RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Riley.

"BLUE RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Rachel.

"YELLOW RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Oz.

"PURPLE RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Sawyer.

"PINK RANGER! CYBER POWER!" shouted Priya.

This was one of the first times I got to see so many morphing spectacles. It was mesmerizing and extremely satisfying. After a few seconds, the five of them touched down on the floor of the restaurant, now fully clad in their ranger outfits.

"Commander Astrid warned me of your so-called strength," said Loki, "But I must say, I can't fathom how you managed to survive for so long."

"Then why don't we show you?" sneered Red.

"Alright, but I get to go first…" said Loki, snapping his bony fingers.

To my left, I watched curiously as Noah's body reappeared. He looked exactly how I pictured he would. He had curly red hair, freckles and big inquisitive eyes. Upon noticing that he was visible again, Noah wiped all the lipstick off while hugging himself.

The unicorn that Billy was playing with vanished, but the magic that had created the unicorn and that made Noah invisible lingered in the air. Loki pointed at the lingering magic and it was drawn to him as if he was sucking it up with a vacuum.

The magic was gone, and Loki chuckled. I watched as his lanky limbs and digits beefed up slightly. He grinned menacingly at us and then he made two daggers materialize in thin air. He grabbed them and bounded towards the others.

"Download weapon!" they called in unison, holding out their hands.

Pink's boomerang, Blue's ring blade, Yellow's shield, Red's katana and Purple's scythe materialized in their outstretched hands.

"Oh dear," said Loki, sounding somewhat amused, "I seem to be outnumbered."

Even though he was holding a dagger in each hand, he somehow managed to snap his fingers again. Moments later, one Loki became five, and each one went after a different ranger. At first, I thought that each clone would be weaker than full size Loki, but after watching the battle for only a few minutes, it seems like I was wrong.

"He's so strong…" I muttered.

"And we can't help them." said Yuna.

"Even if we did, he would just make new clones for us." I said.

"There must be something we can do." said Yuna.

"Wait," I said, turning my head to look at the wishing well, "I have an idea."

Yuna looked at me curiously.

"How do you feel about breaking into the cash register back there?" I asked, pointing to the unguarded register behind the counter.

When all the commotion started, all the waiters and other staff inside the restaurant made a break for it, which meant they can't stop us from borrowing a few handfuls of coins.

 **"Priya Underwood"**

The clone I was fighting kept laughing maniacally, even though there was nothing funny happening.

"What's so funny!?" I snapped, getting annoyed.

"I'm just shocked how weak you are," said the clone, "I knew I would defeat you and earn Astrid's praise, but I had no idea how easy it would be!"

"Shut up!" I snapped again, you haven't won anything!"

"No, not yet." jeered the clone.

"Yet?" I snarled, "I think you mean never!"

"Priya?" came Silver's voice, "Can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear," I said, locking weapons with the clone again, "What's up?"

"I've been doing some work on your codec and I think I know why it's different than the others." he said.

"I'm a little preoccupied right now." I grunted, straining against the clone.

"You'll want to hear this, trust me."

"Alright."

"I wasn't there when any of the codecs were summoned," said Silver, "But I think that summoned might not be the best term. I'm starting to think that "created" is more appropriate."

"No, no," said Jenna, to Silver and possibly me as well, I couldn't tell who specifically she was talking too, but I definitely heard her voice, "They are summoned, but they still have to be transferred from Cyberspace into our world."

"Right," said Silver, "And it looks like during the transfer of your codec, because you were aboard the Dauntless, which is capable of interdimensional travel, some of that residual energy accidentally got added to your codec."

"Which means?" I asked.

"Picture this," said Jenna, "There's a jar that you want to fill with spaghetti sauce, but while you fill the jar, you accidentally spill a bit of… Let's say mustard and a some of the mustard gets into the jar."

"So, my codec contains a small piece of Crusader technology?" I asked.

"Yes, precisely!" said Silver, who sounded relieved that I understood Jenna's analogy.

"Normally, you would have access to a synthetic element, like the other rangers," said Jenna, "But it looks like that feature is missing from your codec. However, you might be able to use some of the mustard to give your weapons an added kick."

"Got it, thanks," I said, "Let's give it a try."

I kneed the clone in the stomach and he recoiled, still with that stupid smirk on his face. I was now seeing a series of instructions displayed on my visor that told me exactly how to do what Silver and Jenna suggested.

"Element: Shadow!" I announced.

I felt my boomerang vibrate subtly in my hand. I looked down at it and saw that it had started glowing a was surrounded with an aura of black energy.

"Cool." I said, slicing at the clone with the shadowy boomerang.

I could feel a difference already. The impact of my attack sent the clone flying back a few feet. Now that there was distance between us, I tossed my boomerang at the clone and gasped when it pierced right through him before returning to me.

"Sweet!" I said, grinning even though no one could tell, "Guys! I think I killed mine!"

"Nice!" called Yellow, "We're not having much luck."

"Try using your elements," I suggested, "I was losing too until I used mine."

 **"Chloe Baldwin"**

My plan was simple. Since Loki's curse was still in effect, if I threw in coin after coin making a new wish each time, maybe it will break his concentration. He'll have to deal with maintaining his clones, fighting the rangers AND granting my wishes. And since destroying Loki will break the curse, I don't have to worry about the wishes sticking around after.

"Alright Yuna, keep the quarters coming." I said, walking over to the wishing well.

Yuna handed me a quarter and I tossed it into the well. When I heard the coin hit the bottom, I closed my eyes and thought to myself:

"I wish for an ice cream sundae."

Seconds later, Loki snapped his fingers and a sundae floated down from out of nowhere. I grabbed it and put it down on the nearest table, but I didn't have time to eat… I didn't think about that when I made the wish.

I went back to the well, Yuna readied herself near my hand to deliver the quarters more quickly. I took one and dropped it down the well.

"I wish that Loki's clones are weak and frail." I thought to myself.

Again, Loki snapped his fingers, but it wasn't until after he did it that he realized what he had just done.

"No!" he spat.

Yuna handed me another coin. I threw it down the well and thought to myself:

"I wish my shoulder was healed." I grinned excitedly upon opening my eyes.

Loki snapped his fingers again and I felt a soothing warmth in my shoulder. Cautiously, I unhooked the sling that had been annoying me since I sparred with that android.

"See if it can heal my arm." said Yuna, handing me another coin.

"Sure," I said, "But remember, these wishes will wear off once they defeat Loki."

I threw the coin down the well and closed my eyes again.

"I wish Yuna's arm was healed." I thought.

"ENOUGH!" snarled Loki.

Loki was furious. All the clones disappeared, and he started building up energy in a large orb that was now hovering about him.

"That can't be good." muttered Purple.

"Yuna, coin me." I said to her.

Yuna handed me another coin. I threw it down the well and closed my eyes for hopefully the last time:

"I wish Loki was powerless," I thought.

The energy that Loki had been gathering dissipated. Loki snapped his fingers to grant the wish because he had no choice. His limbs reverted to their original lanky versions. Loki collapsed to his knees and whimpered like a pathetic worm.

"Curse you! I was defeated by the curse I created to destroy you!" he whined.

"Great work you two." said Red to Yuna and me.

Seizing his chance, Red cut off Loki's head with one swift motion. Everyone that was left in the restaurant, except Billy, who had fallen asleep whooped and cheered. Loki's body melted and the puddle that was left moved along the floor.

"What the hell?" I said.

The puddle stopped right near the well before it jumped down the long hole. The was a loud splashing sound and like a geyser, all the water erupted from the well, sending all the coins that had been down onto the floor of the restaurant.

From outside, Sebastian walked in, carrying Maggie in his arms, she was still unconscious. But then Billy and Maggie both regained consciousness and looked around frantically. Two people wearing Hawaiian shirts with sunburns popped into existence.

"I get it…" I said, "The curse is broken. All the wishes are being undone."

A sharp pain in my shoulder let me know that my shoulder was broken again. Maggie clambered out of Sebastian's arms and looked at him.

"Who are you?" she asked, looking around at her surroundings, "And where am I?"

Billy stood up and yawned. Riley, still in ranger form, walked over to him and knelt down.

"Hello Billy." he said.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Don't worry about it," said Red, "Just relax, we'll take you home."

Noah walked over to me with his hand raised.

"High five?" he asked.

"Sure." I said.

We did.

"Alright, Noah, let be a lesson to you," I said, "Don't be a creep. Girls don't like it."

"Thanks, Chloe." said Noah.

He left, along with the still very confused Maggie. Once the coast was clear, the others stood close together.

"Power down." they said at the same time.

Riley and Rachel took Billy by the hand and walked him out the restaurant, while Sawyer, Oz and Priya ran over to us to celebrate.

"That was awesome you two." said Sawyer.

"I didn't even know if it would work," I said modestly, "I just took a chance."

"Loki was right about one thing though," said Priya, "If you hadn't taken his powers away, his curse might have destroyed us. But because he was forced to grant EVERY wish, turned on him, just like the wishes went bad."

"Karma is not without a hint of irony." said Sawyer.

"Come on, let's go to the Youth Lodge," said Yuna, "Riley and Rachel will probably meet us there once they get Billy home safe."

After a quick pit stop at my place for a shower, Yuna and I met up with Priya, Oz, Sawyer, Riley and Rachel at the Youth Lodge. I also saw that Sebastian was there, with Maggie. Even Noah came for some fun.

Sebastian waved at me when I arrived, so I made a beeline for the table he and Maggie were sitting at.

"Why is Maggie still here?" I whispered in his ear when I got there.

"I can't just leave her, I think she has amnesia," said Sebastian, "I'll take her to the hospital tomorrow, but it's almost like my wish overwrote all her memories to make room for the new devoted personality."

A tear formed in the corner of my eye. I leaned closer and kissed Sebastian on the cheek.

"You're sweet." I said to him, "I hope things work out between you two."

"Are you singing tonight?" asked Sebastian.

"I was just about to," I said, "I think I have the perfect song that encompasses all the craziness that Loki's curse caused."

I waved at both of them before I made my way to the stage.

"Welcome to the Youth Lodge!" called Silver's voice, "Put your hands together for the musical stylings of Ms. Chloe Baldwin!"

My heart skipped a beat. I didn't even know he was here, let alone that he was going to introduce me like that. I took a deep breath as I adjusted the microphone. Once it was ready. I gave the thumbs up and the music for my song started playing. I waited for my cue, and when it came, sang into the microphone:

" _Happiness, hit her like a train on a track. Coming towards her, stuck still no turning back. She hid around corners and she hid under beds, she killed it with kisses and from it she fled. With every bubble she sank with a drink. And washed it away down the kitchen sink. The dog days are over. The dog days are done!"_

As soon as I reached the chorus, lots of people stood up and applauded. Suddenly a thought found its way into my head. One that almost ruined my performance because it's not a happy thought, or something that I really want to be thinking about.

Yuna wished that she could stay in 2018 after we defeat the Crusaders. Which means that if we do save the world from them and win, we'll lose Yuna… And Priya, but it was Yuna that I would miss most.

We've only been dating for a few months, but it felt like so much longer. Yuna also helped me come to terms with who I am as a person, as well as finally making me feel comfortable with my sexuality.

The Crusaders must be stopped, I know that, but if defeating them means losing Yuna, I'm not sure it's worth it…

 **I really think I'm on to something with Insect Might. I know I promised to create a poll so that you can vote on which one I start after Cyberspace V2, but I think I already know what I'm doing. Cyberspace V3 might still happen at some point, but I want to focus on finishing V2 and Insect Might before I try starting V3. So, now that Insect Might is no longer an experiment, expect regular updates to both of those stories. I'm still focusing on V2, but sometimes if I hit a roadblock in one story, it helps if I can switch to a different one.**


	21. Nuclear

Sector 17, H.E.A.L.T.H  
Metro City, Canada  
April 4th, 2019  
5:59 PM

 **"Riley Bishop"**

It had been seven months since the last Crusader attack. None of us understood why they let up. Despite the unexpected peace, we went out and patrolled for any signs of trouble each and every night but found nothing.

That's why when they FINALLY attacked us again, it hit us by surprise. Maybe that's exactly what Astrid was hoping for, I have to give her credit there. She sent an agent with powers so deadly that not even our ranger powers could protect us from them.

And now I'm sitting by Rachel's side in the hospital. Can I just point out that being a Power Ranger was a lot more fun when we weren't getting hospitalized or seriously injured every other day? Well, technically I can't say that anymore, considering they waited for nearly a year in for this latest attack.

Priya and Yuna have a theory that Astrid didn't just wait so long to keep us guessing, but maybe it was also to give the agent time to build up his powers. I don't know for sure, and it doesn't really matter now.

Rachel opened her eyes gradually and squeezed my hand when she saw me and realized that I was still here. Where else would I be? There are still five other rangers that can spring into action should the need arise.

"Riley?" moaned Rachel weakly, "You're still here?"

"You can't get rid of me that easily." I said.

"Go home," she moaned, "Get some sleep. Do something."

"I tried," I said, my voice breaking, "But I just can't bring myself to leave."

"Do the doctors know what's wrong with me?" she asked, sitting up in bed.

This broke me. It was hard enough for me to tell Rachel that because I wished for Smithton Art Gallery to be available for our wedding and then they had a cancellation. But because we defeated Loki all those months ago, whatever the wishing well changed or created was undone.

I covered my face with my hands and broke down. I didn't want Rachel to see me like this, so I scurried out of the room into the hallway just in time for Michelle to walk over.

During the 5-month gap, Michelle had a miscarriage and lost the baby. Sawyer was very quiet for a while, but with support from everyone, they both moved on very quickly.

"I know its hard," she said, putting her hand on my shoulder, "But she deserves to know."

"I-I-I c-c-c-c-can't do it…" I sobbed.

"You have to," said Michelle, "Come on. We'll do it together."

She gave me a minute to regain my composure. I wiped my eyes using my sleeve, not caring about etiquette or hygiene right now. I haven't even showered or shaved since Rachel was admitted earlier this week.

"Ready?" asked Michelle, patting me on the back.

"Define ready." I said.

Michelle brought me in for a one-armed hug.

"It's like a band-aid," she said, "Let's just rip it off and be done with it."

"Alright," I nodded, "It's probably not even a big deal because the symptoms are linked to the agent that caused them, right?"

"That's how it's been for all the other cases I've been involved with," said Michelle, "But I don't like giving people false hope."

"How do you sleep at night?" I asked her, incredulously, "Having to give people bad news every day? I could never do it."

"There's a whole section for that in medical school," said Michelle, "But for me, it helps if I tell myself that I'm doing my best to help people."

"I could never do it." I repeated, freeing myself from the hug.

Michelle led us inside Rachel's patient room. When she saw us, she looked up at us and mustered a weak smile. At least she's trying.

"Michelle?" asked Rachel, looking at her.

"There's no easy way to say this, Rachel…" began Michelle.

"You have cancer…" I said, finishing her sentence.

"No, you don't!" piped up Michelle, "At least now I know why Riley looked so depressed out in the hallway, he's jumping the gun."

"Phew!" I sighed.

"Right now, you only have radiation sickness, which isn't always fatal," said Michelle, "However, the dosage of radiation you received is extremely high. Radiation is a carcinogen, meaning that it promotes carcinogenesis, the formation of cancer."

"Wow!" I chuckled, "Here I was thinking she was on her deathbed."

"Honey, please tell me you're celebrating because I don't have cancer and not because I'm bedridden with radiation sickness." said Rachel.

"I'm shocked you needed clarification." I said with a massive grin on my face.

I walked over to Rachel's bed and gently fell tilted myself back until I fell on her. She groaned weakly, but I think that was just her playing along, pretending that I weighed more than I did.

"Get off me!" she laughed weakly.

"I can't! gravity is increasing on me!" I called playfully.

Michelle looked at Rachel and then at me. She went back and forth a few times.

"You two are so cute!" she squealed.

"Yeah, we get that a lot," said Rachel, "Seriously though, honey, get off."

I hopped off the bed and back into the chair I had been sitting in earlier.

"I feel I should tell you," said Michelle, "There is a chance that you could develop cancer."

"Didn't you just say I have radiation sickness?" asked Rachel.

"No, what I said was RIGHT NOW that's all you have," said Michelle, "Anytime anyone gets exposed to radiation, they always get sick, but they don't always get cancer."

"What do we do if that happens?" I asked.

"I can't really answer that right now," said Michelle, "I don't know exactly how much radiation you were hit with, or what kind it was or anything that we could normally use to make a rough estimate."

"Then what can we do?" asked Rachel.

"Nothing," said Michelle, "Just get some rest."

Michelle turned and left the room. I watched her walk down the hallway until I couldn't see her anymore.

"Riley, there's something I want to tell you." said Rachel.

I pulled the chair as close to the bed as I could so that I could rest my head on her chest.

"In case I don't make it through this, you should-" she began.

"Hey!" I snapped, squeezing her hand which was back in my hands, "Don't talk like that. The others are already scouring the city for that damn agent and once we find it and destroy it, you'll be fit as a fiddle."

"Please, just listen to me for a second," said Rachel, "I don't want to die, but I'm not scared of it either. If this is the end for me, fine. But just in case it is…"

"Alright." I said softly.

"Yuna is our daughter," she said, looking me right in the eye, "Our future daughter."

She probably thought this would come as a total shock, but it didn't. I heard the words come out of her mouth, but instead of being new information, it felt like a simple confirmation.

"I know," I said, "I think somewhere deep down, I've always known."

"Remember when Yuna's medallion short circuited and showed me the future she came from?"

"Yeah?"

"I saw everything," said Rachel, "The night we found out I was pregnant. The night of the party where we told everyone. The day she was born. Even the day we said to goodbye to her before the fight with the Crusaders that we lost."

"Does that mean you know exactly when and where she was conceived?"

"Well, in the alternate future, it was during our honeymoon," said Rachel, "But after everything that's happened and with Yuna's help, we're changing the future."

"Right," I said, "Which means that what you saw might be completely different to how things will happen now, in this timeline."

"The Yuna that we know will be an entirely different person to the one we'll end up having," said Rachel, "We might not even have girl. And we might name the baby something else instead because of our Yuna."

"See?" I asked, "Listen to us, planning for the future."

"Yeah." said Rachel, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Um," I said, "Is that happy crying or scared you might die crying?"

"I don't really know." she sniffled.

I heard my Digitizer beep. Silver or one of the other rangers was trying to contact me.

"Answer that." said Rachel.

"I'm the leader," I said, "I don't have to if I don't want to."

"I don't care," said Rachel, "I'm your fiancée and I say that they could probably use your help with that agent. Or have you forgotten that he emits radiation?"

"But I want to be here for you."

"You can't always get what you want." she said.

"Really?" I asked, running my hand through my hair, "Quoting the Rolling Stones?"

I let go of Rachel's hand and stood up. I took off my Digitizer while Rachel was sleeping. It was sitting on the table on the far end of the room. I went over to it and put it back on my wrist.

"This is Riley." I said into it.

"We found the agent. He's in Sector 2," said Priya, "But Silver says not to go until he can figure out a way to block the radiation."

"What if Sawyer, Chloe and Oz were to activate their Burst Modes?" I asked, "Would that protect them?"

"Riley, I know that Rachel is sick," came Silver's voice, "But your team needs their leader."

"Alright," I sighed, "I'll be right there."

I ended the call and looked longingly at Rachel.

"Go on," she said, coughing, "Duty calls."

I nodded at her as I pressed and held the two small buttons on my Digitizer. I felt the familiar tingle as I was reconfigured into a flurry of binary that flew up through the ceiling and out into the evening sky. Seconds later, I touched down on the floor of headquarters.

"How's Rachel?" asked Chloe.

"Fine for now," I said, "A simple case of radiation sickness."

"That's to be expected," said Jenna, "Radiation exposure is measured in millisieverts; The average person receives around 3 mSv of exposure per year from naturally occurring background radiation."

"Sounds like someone has been reading." I said to her.

"By our estimations, Rachel received a dosage equivalent to roughly 30 times that," said Silver, "And that was just from the agent squeezing her leg for a few seconds."

"Michelle texted me earlier," said Sawyer, "According to her, it takes about 400 mSv of radiation to kill someone."

"Hopefully it won't come to that," I said, "We all know that Rachel's best hope is for us to destroy that agent, but if we can't even protect ourselves, everybody loses."

"I've got it!" announced Oz, "We need a fridge!"

"This is no time for eating," said Yuna, "Rachel is in danger!"

"No, I mean we use a fridge for protection," said Oz, "Remember when Indiana survived a nuke by hiding in a fridge?"

"That's just a movie, Oz," I said, "Plus, scientists worldwide have analyzed that scene and determined that there's no way he could have survived that."

"He might be on to something though," said Silver, "In the movie, that fridge was lead-lined. Lead is one of the best materials for blocking radiation."

"So now the question becomes, where can we find lead?" I asked the room at large.

"Have you forgotten that I'm a multi-billionaire?" asked Silver, "All I need to do is make a few calls and I can get some within an hour."

"Awesome," I said, "You do that. Once the lead gets here, call me and I'll come help with the next step. But until then…"

"You're going back to Rachel?" asked Jenna.

I nodded.

"She's lucky to have someone like you." said Jenna, winking with a warm smile.

 **"Michelle Masters, MD"**

I finished with a patient and had an opening on my docket, so I walked over to Rachel's room to see how she was doing… But when I got there, I saw that the bed was empty. A red beam of 0s and 1s flew down from the ceiling and landed in the now empty room. Riley was back, he took one look around the room and could already tell that something was amiss.

"Where is she?" he asked.

"I don't know," I gasped, "I just came in to check on her and she was gone!"

I ran over to nearest intercom device and punched in my code. I put the receiver to my ear and spoke into the microphone:

"This is a code yellow! Missing persons. I repeat, code yellow!"

I turned around to look at Riley, but he was already gone. If anyone would know where Rachel would run off to, it would be him.

 **"Riley Bishop"**

I went back to headquarters, because I didn't have time to search for Rachel the normal way. If she's doing what I think she's doing, I need to find her before she can do it.

"Rachel is missing." I announced to room.

"No she isn't," said Sawyer, tapping me on the shoulder and pointing to the Sector 2 surveillance monitor, "We were just about to call you."

I stared deeply at the monitor. Rachel must have overheard my conversation with Priya and now she's going after the agent on her own, even though she's still sick from her last altercation with it.

"I'm going after her." I said.

"We'll come with you." said Yuna.

"No, Silver will need your help once the lead gets here," I said, "Even if its against her will, I'm bringing Rach back to the hospital."

I wasted no time and immediately teleported up through the ceiling of headquarters. I flew through the ever-darkening sky and arrived in Sector 2 instantaneously.

"RACHEL?" I hollered, "I'M TAKING YOU BACK TO H.E.A.L.T.H!"

"I'm over here!" came Rachel's voice.

She still sounded sick, but there was also a tone of confidence and determination in her voice that I've only heard her use on a few occasions.

I followed her voice into an alley. It was a dead end, I found Rachel leaning against the brick wall, clutching at her chest. She was still wearing her hospital gown and nothing else.

"Before you pull rank on me," she panted, "Hear me out."

I nodded at her.

"I'm already sick, so until Silver comes up with a way to block out the radiation, I figured I could try fighting him again," she said, "I never got a chance to use my Burst Mode or anything."

"I get where you're coming from," I said, "Really, I do. But you're in no condition to fight. Especially against the agent that did this to you in the first place."

"Well, I can't just sit around either!" she snapped stubbornly.

"I know it's hard," I said, "But you're not thinking clearly."

"Is that so?" said Rachel, breaking into a coughing fit.

"Just because you're already sick doesn't mean you can't get worse," I said, putting my hand on her shoulder, remember what Michelle said?"

"Yeah, okay…" she sputtered, "Take me back."

"Atta girl."

I held out my hand for her to take, but as she reached for it, the nuclear agent dropped down in between us. He thrust out his arms and a massive orb of energy encircled him, sending me flying out the alley and knocking the wind out of me.

"Rachel! Run!" I choked, trying to stand up.

I watched in horror as the agent grabbed Rachel's left leg again and sneered menacingly. His whole arm started glowing and I heard Rachel scream in agony.

"NO! RACHEL!"

There was an enormous explosion of red binary that created a gigantic pillar of light. It was so bright that it was almost blinding. Even though I didn't morph, I knew that I was now in ranger form.

"Riley, this is called Burst Mode," said my codec, "It was locked away deep inside me, but you activated it by demonstrating your unwavering devotion."

"Devotion?" I asked.

"Your devotion to your friends and loved ones is what first drew me to you," said my codec, "Burst Mode doubles your power in ranger form. The initial explosion can also turn the tide in a tough battle."

"Hopefully it will also protect me from that asshole's radiation." I said.

"It will, but only for as long as you can maintain Burst Mode." said my codec.

A flurry of pink binary materialized beside me. It was Priya.

"Get her to the hospital" I shouted, "NOW!"

Once Priya reached Rachel and grabbed her hand, they teleported away, leaving me to deal with the agent.

"What did you do to her!?" I snarled, "TELL ME!"

"I was only trying to finish what I started," he snickered, "Last time I was interrupted before I could really dose her. But now she's as good as dead."

"No…" I whimpered, "Sh-sh-she can't be."

"It's all part of the commander's brilliant plan!" jeered the agent, "Inject me with pure plutonium and let it seep into my core for five months."

"So that's why she left us alone for so long," I said, "To give you a chance to maximize your powers."

"Yes," said the agent, "And judging on how long I was in contact with her, I'd say that touch was more than 5 times stronger than last time."

"That's at least 500 mSv…" I thought out loud, "And according to Jenna, 400 mSv is a lethal dose…"

"Like I said, she's as good as dead." said the agent.

"I DON'T BELIEVE YOU!" I roared, holding out my hand.

My katana appeared my hand.

"Riley, try using the energy from Burst Mode to do an ultimate upgrade." said Silver.

"CYBER KATANA! ULTIMATE UPGRADE!" I announced.

I put both hands on my katana and I felt all the extra power drain away from me and transfer into my weapon. The katana doubled and then tripled in size. It grew bigger and bigger as more and more power flowed into it.

"FULLY CHARGED!" I shouted, then I waited five seconds, "ATTACK!"

I threw my giant katana. It flew right towards the agent and lodged itself right in his chest. Then it popped out and stabbed the agent again and again until it exploded into red binary. When the smoke cleared, the agent was gone. But I did see a small glowing gizmo about the size of a baseball.

I would have investigated further, but I was exhausted and too busy worrying about Rachel. I collapsed to me knees, gasping for breath. My suit returned to normal only to disintegrate a few seconds later.

"Hang in there, Rach!" I panted, "I'm coming!"

 **"Michelle Masters, MD"**

Sawyer called me at the hospital and told me that Riley found Rachel, but that she got an even bigger dose of radiation than last time. Something about how they saw the whole thing on the surveillance system.

"Doctor!" called Priya, cradling Rachel in her arms as she sprinted into the ER.

"Dear God," I said, "I've never seen cancer develop this quickly."

A pillar of red 0s and 1s touched down right in the middle of the waiting room. Riley was back again. He also took one look at Rachel and burst into tears.

"What's wrong with her?" he sobbed.

"Normally in a case like this, patients develop a kind of cancer called soft tissue sarcoma," I said, "It's different from carcinomas because they happen in different kinds of tissue. Sarcomas grow in cells that connect or support other kinds of tissue in your body; like bones, muscles and tendons of your arms and legs."

"And in Rachel's case?" asked Riley.

Two orderlies arrived pushing a stretcher. Priya gently put Rachel down on the gurney and then stepped back to give them room. They were about to start pushing when I stopped them.

On Rachel's left leg, which I could see plain as day because she was still wearing her gown, was a second degree burn in the shape of a hand. But instead of being red like a usual burn, it was black.

"Riley," I said, doing my best to maintain my composure, "I don't think Rachel has cancer, I think she's way past that now."

"I don't like the sound of that." said Riley.

"See how her skin is black here?" I asked, pointing at the hand print, "When skin turns black like that, it means they're necrotic."

"As in necromancy?" he sputtered.

"In a way," I said, wiping a tear from my eye, "Basically, her leg is dying. That black hand print is an infection that will literally eat away at her skin."

I heard the same beep that David's ranger thingy makes.

"Rangers?" came Silver's voice, "The agent is back. Somehow it survived."

"Stay with Rachel," said Priya to Riley, "I'll go help them."

Riley nodded at her but couldn't muster a smile. I looked down at Rachel's leg again and gasped. The hand print was gone, and the black skin was noticeably larger.

"Riley," I said, putting my hand on his shoulder, "Look at her leg."

He saw what I saw now.

"What can we do?" he asked.

"In most cases, necrosis can be stopped dead in it's tracks by surgically removing the infected area." I said.

"Do it," said Riley, leaning forward and kissing Rachel on the lips, "I'm her medical proxy, do whatever you have to do to save her."

"Are you sure?" I asked, "Riley, you need to understand. Whatever the radiation did to Rachel, it's spreading faster than anything I've ever seen."

He looked at me apprehensively.

"If surgery doesn't work," I continued, "We might have to amputate her leg. Otherwise the infection could spread across her whole body and kill her."

Riley cupped his hand over his mouth and then nodded.

"Please Michelle," he pleaded, "Just save her… I can't lose her."

 **"Yuna Murphy"**

"Since not all of you have unlocked Burst Mode yet," said Silver, "Before you go after that agent, I need to use this lead to make you protective vests or aprons."

"How could that agent survive an attack like that? asked Chloe.

"I don't know," said Sawyer, "A few hours ago, I thought it was impossible."

"Maybe there's something special about it?" suggested Oz, "Like maybe it will come back to life unless you hit its weak point?"

I wasn't really listening. I was thinking about poor Rachel. Riley must be a mess. I never really had a family or friends growing up in 2041. The only parents I remember were the Murphy's, but they died a few months after the Power Rangers.

After that, it was just me and Arthur, the Murphy's biological son. We would wander the Aftermath, gathering whatever supplies we could find. I don't know how we survived for so long, but somehow, we managed it.

"Alright," said Silver, "This goes in here and now all we do is wait."

I watched as he dropped all the components of the protective vests into his inventing machine or whatever he calls it. It made a lot of noise, but after a few minutes, it spat out one lead lined vest.

"There's one," said Silver, "Yuna come here."

I nodded obediently but kept staring at the floor. Even though I was sad, it actually felt good to be able to feel sad for someone. I haven't had a reason to worry for someone since I arrived in 2018.

"Morph and then see if this fits over your ranger outfit," instructed Silver, "If it does, I'll get started on the other vests."

"But we don't even know if they'll work yet." said Priya.

"How could we test them here?" asked Jenna, "Even if we had a machine that could imitate that agent's radiation, we don't know what kind it is. It might not even exist on Earth."

"Relax," said Silver, "We'll be watching you the whole time. If the vests don't work, we'll just bring you all back before you get hit again."

"You're not instilling us with a load of confidence." said Chloe.

"That's because he isn't trying to." said Jenna.

"Green Ranger! CYBER POWER!" I shouted.

When I pushed the button on my Digitizer, I could see a swirling tornado of 0s and 1s come from out of the codec and encircle me.

It kept swirling faster and faster becoming more and more narrow as it did so until it collided with me in a small explosion. I had a green ranger suit on now. I leapt high into the air, rotating slightly as I rose.

By the time I reached the height of my jump, I had my helmet on too. During my descent, the strange dimension faded from around me until I landed back on the floor.

"I will never get tired of that." I said, grinning.

Silver took the vest from the conveyor belt on his machine and brought it over to me. He opened it and held it for me. Once I put my arms through the holes, Silver let go of it.

"How does it feel?" asked Jenna.

"It's not very heavy." I said.

"That's because it's lead-lined, not made of lead." said Priya.

"Oh." I said.

"Does it make it harder to move around?" asked Silver.

"No," I said, "I can't even tell it's there."

"Good," said Silver, "That's what we want."

"The rest of you, ranger up and line up." said Jenna.

I watched as they arranged themselves into a 4-person formation.

"Ready?" asked Oz.

"Ready!" said the others.

"Yellow Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Oz.

"Orange Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Chloe.

"Purple Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Sawyer.

"Pink Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Priya.

I went to stand by them after they morphed. We waited for a few minutes while Silver's machine did whatever it does to produce his various inventions. It kept making that strange noise until eventually there were four more vests.

Silver even seemed to take our varying sizes into consideration, because I could tell just by looking at them that they were all different sizes than the one he had me try on.

"This should be all you need," said Silver as he handed out the vests, "But don't dally. Go in there and destroy that agent again quickly."

"Yeah, and hopefully he'll stay dead this time." I said.

"Let's go guys." said Yellow.

After arranging ourselves into the 5-person formation, we all teleported to Sector 2 again. The agent came back to life from the very spot that Riley seemingly obliterated him. We touched down in Sector 2 moments later.

"Anyone see anything?" asked Pink.

"Nothing but busybodies bustling around." I said.

Sector 2 is the fashion district of Metro City. This is where most headquarters for the city's self-contained brands are housed. As Chloe once told me, things like Prada or Gucci don't exist here because they would have to be imported from outside.

Chloe also told me that if I could somehow stay here after we defeat the Crusaders that I had the body to be a model. I didn't know what that was until she explained it to me. I'm still not sure I understood her right, because I can't imagine that there are girls that get paid a lot of money to wear clothes and have people take pictures of them in those clothes.

"Rangers! You've come back!" sneered the unmistakable voice of the agent, "I knew you couldn't stay away."

We could hear him, but we couldn't see him.

"Don't flatter yourself!" shouted Orange.

"If you think you're so tough, come out and face us!" jeered Yellow.

There was a high-pitched beeping sound and then he faded into existence. It was almost like he had been there the whole time, invisible or something.

"Rangers!" called Silver into the comm system, "I forgot to tell you that I installed a Geiger counter into those vests."

"A Geiger what now?" I asked.

"Geiger counters measure ionized radiation," said Jenna, "So if you ever hear a high-pitched beep, that means the agent is using highly radioactive attacks."

"Did anyone else hear a beep when he revealed himself?" I asked them,

"As a matter of fact, yes," said Purple, "I thought it was just me."

"No, that was probably your vests," said Silver, "Since we have no way of testing those vests, try and avoid as many of his attacks as you can."

"Roger that." said Orange.

I looked at the agent and saw something green glowing in his chest. This triggered a memory from earlier. I chose to use a phrase that I heard Chloe and the others use.

"Déjà vu," I said, "Um… Did I use that right?"

"You did," said Purple, "Good job."

"Remember when Riley destroyed him the first time?" I asked, "There was that weird green thing left behind on the ground?"

"Yeah." said Pink.

"The agent even came back to life near where Riley destroyed him." I said.

"My name is GAMMA!" barked the agent, "Stop calling me agent!"

"No one cares, Gamma," said Yellow, "I think you might be on to something, Green."

"I'll bet you anything the reason he came back is because of that green thing." I said.

"Only one way to find out." said Purple.

We pressed the appropriate buttons on our Digitizers to summon the VR. We don't need to have our weapons out first to do it. Five different streams of colours combined, reshaped and solidified into the Virus Reaper.

"Virus Reaper, online!" we announced in unison.

I grabbed one of the handles as we took aim. The familiar laser sight showed us the path the bolt would follow once we pulled the trigger.

"Four…" said Purple.

"Three…" said Orange.

"Two…" said Pink.

"One…" said Yellow.

"FIRE!" I shouted.

With an electronic twanging sound, the VR shot the bolt. There was a loud boom as the bolt broke the sound barrier. It flew straight towards Gamma, we made sure to aim for that weird green thing in his chest.

When the bolt made contact, Gamma screamed in agony. His body disintegrated, but the green thing stayed where it was, suspended in the air. After a while, the bolt pierced through the green thing and then returned to us like a boomerang.

We watched with baited breath as whatever that green thing was exploded, sending a wave of energy flying towards us. The counters in our vests emitted that high-pitched beep again.

"I'd say that went well," I said, "He almost seemed weaker this time."

"Maybe each time he comes back to life, he loses power?" suggested Orange.

"I think that thing was like the core of a nuclear power plant," said Purple, "Until you destroy the core, the power plant will keep working."

"Let's stick around in case Astrid decides to make Gamma bigger." said Pink.

"There's no point waiting," said Yellow, "She might decide to wait again."

"No," I said, "Priya and I were with the Militia. We know first hand that the Crusaders only have a small window if they want to make their agents bigger. If she's going to do it, it'll be within a few seconds."

We waited again. One minute went by, then a second.

"Alright then," I said, "That's the end of that."

"Power down." we said together.

"Great job, Rangers!" called Silver delightedly, "With Gamma destroyed, Rachel should right as rain."

"Let's all rendezvous at H.E.A.L.T.H." said Jenna.

 **"Michelle Masters, MD"**

I walked out of Rachel's patient room into the hallway. David texted me saying that they had defeated the agent for good and were coming to visit Rachel. Riley was staying behind in the room, holding Rachel's hand.

When I reached the waiting room, I saw David, Oz, Chloe, Priya, Yuna, Silver and Jenna all waiting for someone to meet them. David was holding an adorable 'get well soon' balloon and Yuna was carrying a bouquet of flowers.

"How is she?" asked Chloe.

"She'll be fine," I said, unable to muster a smile.

David saw this and handed the balloon to Oz to hold. He ran over to me and threw his arms around me.

"What's wrong?" he whispered in my ear.

"Sometimes my job really sucks," I whimpered, "Normally when I have to give bad news, its to people that I don't know. But now I have to do it to some of my best friends."

"I don't get it," whispered David, "I thought you said she'll be fine?"

I took a deep calming breath as he wrapped his arms around my waist. With David standing there, holding me tightly, I felt safe and mustered up my courage. I raised my head to look at them.

"We tried operating to remove the infected area," I said, "But it spread so fast!"

"Michelle?" asked Chloe.

"We had no choice but to amputate her leg." I said, a few tears forming in my eyes.

Everyone gasped and covered their mouths with their hands.

"But we beat the agent…" said Yuna glumly.

"I know," I said, "I don't think anyone will blame you. That agent really did a number on her. We had to act fast to stop the infection from spreading."

"I guess we need to look on the bright side," said Oz, "At least she's still alive."

I noticed that Silver was gone. He didn't say anything, he just slipped away when I wasn't looking. The only one that seemed to be aware of this was Jenna.

"Can we see her?" asked Chloe.

"Sure. She's in room 10 down the hall on the left," I said, "She's still sleeping. Riley's with her now."

After they left, David pinned me up against the wall and kissed me passionately on the lips. I wasn't expecting it, so he caught me off guard.

"What was that for?" I asked him.

"Emotional release," he said, "Well that and because your lips are just so kissable."

"You're really weird sometimes." I giggled.

"Weird good though, right?" he asked.

I nodded at him and leaned in for another kiss.

 **"Riley Bishop"**

I looked up when I saw everyone sans Michelle, Sawyer and Silver at the doorway.

"Come on in." I said.

"Is it true?" asked Chloe, "About her leg?"

"Yeah," I said, nodding, "Michelle warned me when they took her in for surgery."

"How are you holding up?" asked Oz.

"Guys, I'm fine," I said, squeezing Rachel's hand, "I was afraid she'd die."

"We destroyed the agent… Again," said Yuna, "But we were too late."

"I'm not angry at any of you," I said, "But I am a little angry with myself. I didn't finish the job. If I had, the agent would have destroyed the first time and whatever he did to Rachel would've been undone."

"It's not your fault either." said Jenna.

"Does Rachel know?" asked Priya.

"Not yet," I said, "She's been asleep since you brought her here."

"Are you worried how she'll react?" asked Jenna.

"Maybe a little," I said, "But I am her medical proxy, but we never got a chance to talk about what she would want. So, I just did what I thought she would want."

"Give yourself some credit," said Oz, "You know her better than anyone."

I felt Rachel squeeze my hand again. I turned to look at her. The others saw this and knew it meant that she was waking up. They all gathered around the foot of the bed. Yuna held up her bouquet of flowers, and Oz pulled the balloon that had floated up to the ceiling.

Rachel opened her right eye first and then her left one. She yawned and stretched, but then without even saying anything, she looked confused. She reached down and pulled her blanket away, revealing her missing leg.

"Riley!?" she sobbed, "W-w-what happened!?"

"They had no choice, Rach," I said gently, "The agent gave you a flesh-eating infection on your leg. Michelle tried to save it, but the infection was spreading too fast."

"My leg…" she whimpered.

"I just did what I thought you'd want," I said, "If they didn't amputate, the infection would have spread throughout your entire body and killed you."

"Yeah…" she said, "Good choice. I'd rather be alive than have two legs."

Rachel reached down and touched the stump curiously.

"What does it feel like?" asked Yuna.

"It doesn't feel like anything." said Rachel.

"Michelle told me that they have some really good prosthetics these days."

"Aw…" said Rachel, "I was kinda hoping I could get a peg leg."

"You're making jokes," I said, "You're back to your old self again."

"Well, except for my leg," she said, "This will definitely take some getting used to."

Silver appeared in the doorway. He was carrying a rectangular box that was so long it didn't fit through the doorway; he had to rotate it 90° to get it inside the room. A few seconds later, Sawyer and Michelle came into the room as well. They both looked very giddy considering the somber nature of Rachel's condition.

"What are you two grinning about?" I asked.

"You'll see soon enough." said Michelle.

"Riley, can I borrow that chair for a minute or two?" asked Silver.

"Sure."

I stood up and walked around to the other side of the bed. Rachel grabbed my hand this time, instead of the other way around. Silver sat down and put his hand on Rachel's shoulder.

"I heard about your leg." he said.

Rachel looked at him. She seemed to be feeling a mixture between confusion and apprehension.

"Since you were injured on active duty," said Silver, "I feel partially responsible. If I hadn't asked you to be a ranger again, you wouldn't be in this situation."

"I don't blame you, Silver," said Rachel, "I blame that agent."

"Yeah, we killed him by the way," said Oz, "Just not in time to save your leg."

"It's not your fault, Silver." said Rachel.

"I know that, but I still feel bad," he said, "Don't take this the wrong way, but the Crusaders are still up there. You're no good to me like this."

Silver placed the cardboard box on Rachel's lap, minus the missing leg.

"Open it." he said.

The box wasn't really sealed. There was a lone piece of tape holding it closed. Rachel pulled on the tape. For a brief period, she had a look of youthful curiosity on her face.

Once Rachel opened the box, Silver grabbed one end of it and tilted it towards her. From inside it, what looked like a human leg rolled out of it.

"Please tell me that's not a human leg." said Rachel, sounding disgusted.

"No silly," chuckled Silver, "This is was the Yuna-Bot's left leg. Remember how I saved all the parts? Well, I made a few modifications…"

It seemed to take Rachel a moment to understand what this meant. But when she did, she grinned and then tears formed in her eyes.

"Thanks, Silver!" she giggled, leaning over to hug him.

"Rachel," said Michelle, "H.E.A.L.T.H has some of the physical therapists in the country. I can schedule your first appointment as soon as you're ready."

Rachel picked up the leg and examined it closely.

"It looks SO real," she said, "When I'm wearing it, people will think I have two normal legs."

Rachel looked at me suspiciously.

"Did you have anything to do with this?" she asked.

"Me? No." I said.

"Because if it was you," said Rachel, "On one hand, I'd be happy because this thing will make me feel normal again, like this never happened. But on the other hand, I might be a little disgusted that you don't want a one-legged bride."

I cracked up laughing and leaned onto her shoulder.

"I love you no matter how many legs you have." I said.

"Good answer." said Rachel.

"We'll leave you two alone for a while," said Silver, getting up from the chair, "We'll be out in the waiting room."

Everyone turned to leave and headed towards the door.

"Michelle?" called Rachel.

She turned on her heel and looked at us.

"Yes?" she said.

"I'm ready," said Rachel, "Book me an appointment."


	22. Justice

**I am so sorry for the wait. I had to do some serious rewrites, and then I lost most of May and all of June as I was in the process of looking at apartments and eventually moving into my first apartment without a roommate. Plus, you know, COVID kinda drained all my motivation to work on any stories away. But now I'm all settled in and hopefully out of my slump. I definitely didn't intend for this one to be so long, but hopefully it was worth the wait. Enjoy!**

Sector 17, H.E.A.L.T.H  
Metro City, Canada  
April 8th, 2019  
10:17 AM

 **"Rachel Parker"**

Day 3 of physical rehab. H.E.A.L.T.H has one of the largest rehab centers in the country, enough room for nearly ten concurrent sessions at a time. I was in my corner of the facility with my assigned worker, Josh. Today he was having me run on a treadmill that would progressively get faster.

Silver gave me this incredibly lifelike android leg rather than letting the doctors give me a prosthetic one. So, while I knew I would eventually get to the point where no one would notice that I only have one leg, it was taking longer than I anticipated to get there.

The leg could move just like a real human leg and it was easier to put on or take off than a regular prosthetic, but I still had to go through rehab to get used to the new leg. It wasn't a part of my body like my other leg. If I jabbed it with something, I couldn't feel it because the android leg has no nerve endings.

"How are you feeling?" asked Josh.

"Fine, why?" I asked, panting.

"Normally the patients I work with get exhausted pretty fast," he said, "But not you."

"What can I say?" I panted, "I'm a very active person."

"Agreeing to lose your leg must've been hard." said Josh.

"I didn't actually agree," I said, "The doctors amputated while I was unconscious."

"And you woke up missing a limb?" gasped Josh, "Sounds like a very surreal experience."

"You could say that." I said.

"You got a few more seconds left," said Josh, "Keep up the pace."

"I can go for another six hours if it'll speed up the process." I said, wiping a bead of sweat from my forehead.

"It won't," chuckled Josh, "But I admire your determination."

"I'm lucky to be alive," I said, "And I'll be damned if let losing my leg negatively impacts my life."

"That's a very good attitude to have," said Josh, "Most of the patients I work with give up and resign themselves to a new way of living because it would take too much effort to get back to the way they used to be. Some of them just give up altogether."

"I'm no quitter," I said, "My fiancée would never let me live it down if I gave up."

"He sounds like a good man." said Josh.

"Yup," I grinned, "He's a keeper."

"Alright, good progress today," said Josh, "Start slowing down."

He reached over and pressed a button on the treadmill. I slowed my pace until I was back to just walking normally. Once the treadmill stopped completely, Josh offered me his hands to help me down.

"No thanks," I said, "I think I can do it myself."

I used the railings that lined the treadmill to lift myself up and then slowly lowered down on the floor a few inches lower. It was awkward because my robotic leg is made of metal and artificial skin, so it's heavier than my other leg.

"Wow," said Josh, "You catch on fast."

After Josh had to leave to meet up with his next patient, so Riley came to pick me up from rehab and bring me back to our room. Michelle pulled some strings and got me transferred to a larger room with two beds so that Riley could spend the night from time to time.

"How's it going?" he asked me, as I used my cane to hobble over to him.

"Pretty good," I panted after I reached him, "Josh is impressed with my progress."

"He might not be as impressed if he knew what you and I are." he chuckled.

"Yeah," I said, "That's precisely why he can't find out."

Riley scanned me from head to toe and giggled quietly to himself.

"Does something about me amuse you?" I asked.

"You look like a 24-year-old grandma." he snickered.

"I'm not a grandma…" I whined.

Riley tilted my head up and his head down so we could share a passionate kiss. Since I lost my leg, it's been getting harder to cuddle or show any kind of affection at all. Hopefully once I finish rehab, that will change for the better.

Back in our room, Shannon Maguire, the wedding planner Silver flew in from America was waiting for us. She had been coming to see us daily throughout the last few weeks. She spoke with a thick, obnoxious, but also somewhat endearing New Jersey accent.

"There's the lovebirds!" she announced when we entered.

She called us that all the time. I'm not sure if it's because she doesn't remember our real names of that's just what she calls every couple she works with, but with her accent, the word "lovebirds" sounded more like a "loveboyuds".

"Let's talk wedding cakes," said Shannon, "Hit me with some ideas."

"Um, carrot cake?" said Riley, sounding unsure.

I made my way over to my bed and collapsed onto it. Moving around is very tiring.

"Carrot wedding cake?" chortled Shannon.

"What?" asked Riley, "I like carrot cake."

"I know sweetie, but it's not a wedding cake." I said.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because carrot cakes are orange," said Shannon, "White is the predominant colour of weddings. White flowers, white wedding dress, white table clothes, white cake."

Riley hung his head with evident disappointment.

"How about red velvet cake?" I suggested, "That's a red cake with white frosting."

"Hmm," said Shannon, "I suppose that could work."

"Wait," said Riley, "Why can we have a red cake but not an orange cake?"

"It's not the colour so much as it's the kind of cake," said Shannon, with an air that seemed to suggest she would have thought everyone should know this, "Carrot cake is something you have at a small café or a coffee shop. Not at a wedding."

"Rachel, honey," said Riley to me, "You know better than anyone that our relationship defies traditions. We don't go on dates, we started out as best friends and we got engaged before we graduated high school."

I looked at him as a big smile broke out on my face.

"He's right, Shannon," I said, "To hell with tradition. Let's make our wedding the weirdest wedding in history, that way it'll be ours and not what people think it should be."

Shannon closed her eyes as I spoke. It seemed like our words triggered something inside her. When she opened her eyes again, Riley was sitting next to me at the foot of my bed.

"Well, I must say… I've never worked with a couple as perfect for each other as you two seem to be." she said.

Leaned over and put my head in Riley's lap. Shannon put her hand over her heart.

"Shall I put down half red velvet and half carrot for the cake?" she asked.

"Yes." said Riley and I together,

"Or better yet, make it a two-layer cake," I said, "The top layer will be carrot and the bottom layer will be red velvet."

"You've got it." said Shannon.

It seemed like Shannon was working based on a routine she had developed planning her countless weddings. Either that or it was a sheet with a Mad Libs sheet, except with aspects of weddings instead of things like nouns, adjectives of verbs to fill in the blanks.

"Band or DJ?" asked Shannon.

Riley had started stroking my hair gently. I reached for his free hand and wrapped my hand around it.

"DJ," said Riley, "Our friend Chloe is an amazing singer. She'll already be at the wedding, and if we put a few karaoke versions in a playlist, she can sing for everyone."

Before writing that down, Shannon gave me a quick glance as if to verify that Riley was speaking for both of us, which of course he was, so I nodded at her without lifting my head from Riley's lap.

"Flowers?" asked Shannon.

"You pick," said Riley, to me, "To me, flowers are flowers."

"My mother had a beautiful garden," I said, "Some of my earliest memories are of me watching her work in it. She would hum or whistle as she worked."

I paused to sit up straight and a wipe a small tear from my eye.

"My favourite flower has always been geraniums," I said, "I want each of my bridesmaids to have a bouquet that matches their dresses. Chloe will be wearing orange, Priya will be in pink, Yuna will be in green, and I'll wear a blue wedding gown."

I'm not one of those girls that's had their wedding planned in advance in a homemade book full of glitter and sparkles; that was never my style.

But as soon as I said the word "geraniums" out loud, an image of the female rangers and me wearing coloured dresses that will match our ranger colours while holding matching bouquets of geraniums appeared, and it was beautiful. Shannon smiled again and started to fill in a few more blanks.

"This is sounding really good you two," said Shannon, "Did either of you have a certain venue in mind?"

"We-um, make that I, really wanted Smithton Art Gallery," I sighed longingly, "But we want to get married sooner rather than later and the waiting list was too long."

I was about to mention how Riley wished for Smithton to have opening using the wishing well months ago, but out of context it wouldn't make sense or accomplish anything, so I didn't bother.

"How long was the wait list?" asked Shannon.

"The next opening is in five years give or take a few months, and there's over a dozen couples ahead of us on the list." said Riley, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"Why Smithton?" asked Shannon, directing the question to me.

"My parents got married there." I said.

"My name has a lot of power in New Jersey or New York," said Shannon, "But here in Canada, I'm a nobody by comparison. And even if I wasn't, not even I could get your names closer to the top of a list that long."

I hung my head. I knew our chances of getting the Smithton were slim to none to begin, but that didn't make it any easier to hear.

"It's just a building, Rach," said Riley, consolingly, "As long as we can still get married on one of the most important days of our lives, it doesn't matter where we do it."

I kissed him on the forehead. He always knows just what to say.

"I know," I said, "But I don't want to settle for something. If Smithton isn't an option, then let's come up with an even better place together."

"How about the Youth Lodge?" he suggested, "Silver owns the building."

"It's definitely spacious enough," I said, "But it's not really wedding material."

"I'm just going to pretend I know what that means." said Riley.

"Don't forget that the venue needs to be versatile enough to suit the theme of your wedding." said Shannon.

"Theme?" asked Riley.

"Do we need a theme?" I asked.

"Not really," said Shannon, "But sometime if you're struggling to choose things like flowers or tablecloths, the theme can help tip one option in favour of another."

"Alright then," I said, "Our theme will be 'Breaking Traditions'. That's basically the foundation of our entire relationship."

"Best friends don't often stay together their whole lives and eventually fall in love," said Riley, "But we did."

"We could go on for hours, but you get the idea, right?" I asked Shannon.

"Yes, I think so." she said.

"When do you need a decision on the venue?" asked Riley.

"As soon as possible," said Shannon, "So make that your top priority. You already have my cell number, call me once you settle on something and we'll move on from there."

Shannon stood up with a big smile. She closed her notebook and put it away neatly in her purse before turning and leaving the hospital room. Once she was gone, Riley stood up too and looked at me a peculiar expression on his face.

"Hey Rach…" he began.

"What?" I asked, curiously.

"We're getting married!" he exclaimed.

We shared a long hug.

"Have you decided on who's going to be your best man?" I asked him.

Riley tilted his back with a sigh,

"I always imagined I'd choose you," he said, "Best man is just a title, the best man doesn't need to be a man."

"We might be trying to break traditions, but there's some that we simply can't break," I said, with a smile, "So let's make a deal. I'll be your best man OR your bride, but not both."

"I'm leaning in favour of bride." he said.

"Good answer." I said.

We kissed and rubbed our noses together.

"Who would be your second choice then?" I asked.

"Marcus," said Riley, his voice breaking slightly, "But that can't happen either."

"So that just leaves Sawyer and Oz." I said.

"I'm leaning towards Oz," he said, "It would almost be poetic. The same guy that used to make my life a living hell at school is now one of my closest friends AND my best man."

"And since it's the best man's job to plan the bachelor party, Oz will be over the moon with excitement." I said.

"Or drunk with power," said Riley, "You know babe, I don't NEED a bachelor party."

"I trust you," I said, "Besides, Oz is going to throw one no matter what you do. You might as well just go willingly so he won't resort to kidnapping you."

"Actually, he'll probably kidnap me too, just for fun." he said with a chuckle.

"I think it would mean more to Oz than to Sawyer," I said, "You've known Oz longer, and if you hadn't rescued him from the Television Virus years ago, none of us would've become Power Rangers."

"Yeah," he said, "And Oz might still be that same asshole."

"But it's your choice." I said.

A warm smile appeared on Riley's face.

"Can you manage on your own for a while?" he asked, "I should go talk to Oz."

"I'll be fine," I said, "Take Oz, Sawyer and Silver to buy your tuxes while you're at it."

"Good idea." he said.

"Now that I think of it," I said, "I should probably take the girls to go dress shopping."

"For your wedding gown too?" he asked, "Why not wear your Mom's old dress?"

"First of all, it wouldn't fit me," I said, "Second of all, my Dad asked me not to wear her dress for my wedding."

"Why would he do that?" asked Riley, "You'd be honouring your mother's memory."

"He says it's because her dress still smells like her." I said, another tear forming in the corner of my eye.

Riley put his arm around me and held me tightly for a while. It was so nice that I didn't want to let go, even though I knew I would have to at some point. Riley was there to force it along though,

"Be careful out there," he said, letting me go, "Remember, you haven't finished your physical therapy yet."

"I know," I said, "Chloe and the other girls will help me get around if I need it."

"I'll meet you back here tonight?" asked Riley.

"Yessir." I said, saluting him unnecessarily.

 **"Riley Bishop"**

After leaving Rachel to go shopping for her dress, I teleported over to Oz's apartment. Knocking on the door, I was excited to see the look on his face when I told him I want him to be my best man.

That's when a silly idea popped into my head. I got down on one knee as if I was proposing. The door swung open and I saw Oz's feet come to the door. He looked down at me curiously, but I kept my head down. I noticed that Oz was wearing bunny slippers.

"What are you doing down there?" asked Oz.

"How would you like to be my best man?" I asked, getting back to my feet.

"Are you serious?" sputtered Oz.

"Completely." I said.

Oz opened his arms for a big bear hug and beckoned me to come closer. I did, and he squished me as if I was a stress reliever.

"Dude!" he shouted excitedly, "It'd be an honour, bro!"

He still hadn't let go of me.

"Please go of me," I choked, "Or else I'll tell everyone about your bunny slippers."

He let go of me and I panted in relief.

"Go ahead and tell," said Oz with a proud grin, "Heather gave them to me."

"Just so we're clear," I said, "You know there's more to being best man than just planning the bachelor party, right?"

"Yeah I know," giggled Oz excitedly, "But the bachelor party is the fun part."

"I don't really want a bachelor party."

"Riley, bachelor parties are like being born." he said.

"How?" I asked.

"You can only do it once in your life, it's a rite of passage and you can't not do it." said Oz.

"That was oddly insightful," I said, "Now grab your keys, we have to get our tuxes. Silver and Sawyer are meeting us at the store."

"Okay." said Oz.

He turned and went back inside the apartment, leaving the door wide open and me standing in the hallway just outside. Once Oz found his keys, he came back and joined me in the hall, closing the door behind him and locking it.

"Riley," said Oz as we walked down the hallway, "I know I wasn't your first choice for best man, but I promise to do whatever I can to make your wedding the best wedding in the history of weddings."

"Thank you, Oz." I said, patting him on the shoulder.

About 20 minutes later, we arrived at the tuxedo store. Silver and Sawyer were standing near the main door. They waved at us when Oz pulled the truck up into a parking spot in front of the building.

"There they are." I said, indicating them to Oz in case he hadn't seen them.

A few minutes later in the store, the posh middle-aged woman working the front desk greeted the four of us with a warm smile.

"Hello, you can call me Madame Yvonne," she said, "Which one of you is the groom?" she asked, pulling out a roll of measuring tape.

She spoke with a French accent, and would occasionally toss in some French words, but I don't know if she's from Québec or France.

"How do you know there is a groom?" asked Sawyer.

"When three or more men come in at the same time, it's pretty obvious." she said.

"I'm the groom," I said, "Well, I mean not right now, but I will be soon."

"What colour are they wearing?" she asked.

"Wait," said Silver, "Have you even thought that far ahead, Riley?"

"No, but I do know what I have in mind." I said.

"Let's start with the groom." said Yvonne.

"Actually, we're all wearing the same thing, just with different coloured jackets," I said, "I want a red jacket. Kind of like a game show host, you know?"

"I think can arrange that." said Yvonne.

"The muscular one is Oz, he's my best man," I said, "He gets a yellow or gold jacket. Sawyer, the skinnier one, gets a purple jacket, and lastly, Silver gets a Silver jacket."

"When is the wedding?" asked Yvonne.

"Not this Saturday, but the Saturday after that." I said.

"Fabulous," said Yvonne, "I don't have any of those colours, so I will have to custom make them, but two weeks will give me more than enough time."

"You can do that?" asked Oz, "Make tux jackets all by yourself?"

"Not entirely by myself," giggled Yvonne, "I'll have my sewing machine."

I heard a phone ring loudly. Yvonne looked over her shoulder to see if it was the store's phone, but it wasn't. Silver realized that it was his cell phone and pulled it out of his pocket.

"Sorry about that," he muttered, "I thought I had it on silent. I'll answer it outside."

He left and went to stand outside, in front of Oz's truck. We could see him through the long, store window; he was pacing back and forth down, and then he stopped. He clutched as his head and massaged his temple.

"Power Rangers!" cackled a gravely, scratchy voice delightedly.

I turned to look at Yvonne. She looked just as confused as her.

"Yvonne, get out of here." I said to her.

"Go outside where it's safe." Said Oz, confidently.

"What's happening!?" she panted, sounding terrified.

"Nothing good," said Sawyer, "Please leave for own good."

"Our friend Silver is out there," I said, "He'll keep you safe."

Yvonne scampered out of the store frantically. I peered over my shoulder and saw that she had kept on running until Silver stopped her and put his arms around her shoulder.

"Let's ranger up!" I announced, holding up my wrist.

"Red Ranger! CYBER POWER!" I shouted.

"Yellow Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Oz.

"Purple Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Sawyer.

Moments later, our ranger suits had materialized on our bodies and we were standing close together, waiting for the source of the sinister voice to reveal itself.

"Your friend, the billionaire has a magnificent brain!" cackled the voice again, "For someone so rich, he sure seems to think about money a lot."

"Who are you!?" I snapped, "Show yourself!"

"You've been looking at me for the last 72 hours whenever you looked at your rich friend," sneered the gravely voice, "I've been living in his body, waiting for the opportune moment to strike!"

There was a "cha-ching" sound, and gold coins began to rain down in front of us. From the same invisible source of the coins, came a gigantic coin that landed on the ground.

"Gives a whole new definition to making it rain, huh?" chuckled Yellow.

"Not your best material." said Purple.

"I know." sighed Yellow.

We watched, fascinated, as the top side of the large coin began to move exactly like water on a day with no wind.

Then, from beneath the 'water', a wrinkly hand, that was also gold, reached up and grabbed onto the edge of the coin to pull itself out of the water.

We were at a loss for words, but before too long, a short, stubby man with very greasy black hair and gold, wrinkly skin was standing before us.

"I AM GREED!" he giggled.

"You're a Sin Lieutenant?" I snorted.

"Insolent worm!" he roared.

Greed threw a coin at me. I wasn't expecting it but raised my hand to try and stop it. The coin hit the palm of my right hand. Suddenly, I was having trouble breathing, so I collapsed to my knees, coughing and sputtering.

"Red?" asked Purple curiously.

"I feel strange…" I muttered.

I was reverted back to civilian form. It felt like everything was slowing down. There was a burning sensation on my right palm. I turned my hand over to look at it and saw that my hand was gold. It looked like I had unknowingly touched something that had been painted recently, but I know I didn't. Especially nothing gold.

"How does it feel, Red Ranger?" jeered Greed.

"It burns…" I moaned.

From the small spot on my palm, the gold was quickly spreading to the rest of my arm, and then from there, it went on to my body, legs and even my other arm.

"What have you done to him!?" roared Yellow.

"I'm simply turning him into what he truly is inside." said Greed.

"What are you talking about?" asked Purple.

"Human beings are all greedy and selfish." said Greed.

"You're wrong!" I snapped, wincing as the gold moved up my neck.

"He's right," said Purple, "There are thousands of generous people who give to the poor."

"You can be greedy without being avaricious," said Greed, "Those people you call, 'generous' might not be greedy for money, but they are greedy for attention and appreciation."

And that's the last thing I remember.

" **David Sawyer"**

I gasped and clenched my fist tightly when I looked over at Riley and saw that his entire body was covered from head to toe with what looked like gold paint.

"You son of a bitch!" I spat.

"You…" said Greed, pointing at me, "You're greedy for revenge."

"Damn right I am!" I snapped.

"Glad to hear it." said Greed, throwing a second coin at me.

"Purple, get out of the way!" hollered Yellow.

He helped snap me out of in the nick of time, I ducked down and the coin kept going, right past where my head had been only seconds later.

"You think I only have ONE coin for each of you?" said Greed, laughing mischievously, "I'm a SIN LIEUTENANT!"

Greed's arms started spinning around rapidly, they were like small, stubby propellers. With each rotation of his arms, a coin was sent flying, all of them moving faster than the eye could see.

Exactly like the iconic scene from The Matrix, we dodged countless coins by swerving, flipping and bending, but sadly Yellow was a second late with one his dodges and a coin grazed his ankle.

The same thing that happened to Riley started happening to him. He was reverted to civilian form, and then slowly gold spread from his ankle until eventually it enveloped his entire body.

"OZ!" I shouted.

The few seconds it took me to look at Oz was all it took for Greed to hit me in the head with a coin. I was changed to civilian form and was quickly enveloped by the coin's strange gold powers.

" **Stephen "Silver" Silverstone"**

We saw the whole ordeal from outside the store; there was a large window that Yvonne and I were standing near. The agent laughed menacingly and then went around the store to collect his prizes, the gold ranger statues.

While I probably could have summoned the silver codec and morphed to try and fight the agent, I knew it was pointless. Because the silver codec is synthetic, it wouldn't benefit from an upgraded Digitizer. In all the time I've had the silver codec, I've deliberately chosen not to use a Digitizer with it because if I did, it would try to bond with me.

"Yvonne, get out of here," I said, "There's nothing we can for them right now."

" **Rachel Parker"**

I was with Chloe, Yuna and Priya at a bridal store, looking at dresses. Even though my new leg looks normal on the outside, I still hadn't gotten used to it, so I was relieved that all wedding dresses go down past the ankles. Well, all traditional ones anyway.

Since Priya is the newest member, I asked her to help me try on various dresses so that when I came out of the changing room, I could see the reactions of the two people who would have the best reactions.

"Why did you ask me to help you?" asked Priya.

"I've known Chloe and Yuna longer," I said, "Their reactions will help me choose the right dress more than yours would."

"All these dresses are beautiful," said Priya, "I don't see how you'll possibly be able to choose."

"Because when you know…" I said, "You just know…"

A few minutes later, I came out wearing what felt the billionth dress I'd tried on that afternoon, even though it was more like the tenth or eleventh.

I had barely even stepped out of the changing room when I saw that Chloe's eyes had started to water. Yuna had a different reaction, her eyes didn't water, but her mouth slowly opened slightly in what I would imagine to be awe.

"Rachel…" gasped Chloe, "You look SO beautiful."

"You're the most beautiful bride I've ever seen." said Yuna.

She paused for a second.

"Actually, you're the only bride I've ever seen," she said, correcting herself, "But you still look gorgeous."

Just then I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I put my hand over my heart and winced.

"What's wrong?" asked Priya.

"Riley's in trouble." I muttered.

"How do you know that?" asked Yuna.

"I don't know," I said, "I can just feel it."

"That could either be construed as really sweet or really creepy." said Priya.

A few seconds later, my Digitizer vibrated subtly before it beeped loudly a few times. I ducked into the change room and pressed the button to answer it.

"Rachel," came Silver's voice, "There you are."

"It's Riley, isn't it?" I asked, "I felt it in my heart."

"Ah, so it seems the Cyber Gene that's drawn the two of you together since the very beginning has finally reached its pinnacle."

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"You two are deeply linked to each other emotionally," said Silver, "I've had theories about what the Cyber Gene might to do people whose destinies have been intertwined since the very beginning."

"Please Silver," I said, "Just tell me what happened."

"Greed, the Sin Lieutenant attacked the boys at the tux store," he said, "His special ability is to throw coins at people."

"That's all?" I asked.

"Well that's not all it does," he said, "Assuming that I understand what I saw properly, these coins turn anyone with greed in their hearts into gold statues."

"But Riley isn't greedy," I said, "He's one of the most selfless people I know."

"Greed isn't specifically about wanting money," said Silver, "If I had to guess, I would say that Riley loves you so much that he wants to give you everything."

"That's a strange definition of greed." I said.

"Exactly," said Silver, "So be extremely careful; these coins bypassed the defenses of their ranger suits as if they weren't even wearing them."

"It sounds to me like Greed's power is based more on whether we desperately want something, rather than us actually being greedy." I said.

Silver groaned in pain and panted to regain himself.

"Silver? Are you okay?" I asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, "For a few seconds it felt like my head was about to explode."

There was a long, pregnant pause.

"I know what Greed's weakness is," said Silver confidently, "His coins also affect him, but the only way you could use one of them against him is to catch a coin he throws at you without being affected by it."

"Where did this come from?" I asked.

"I have no idea," said Silver, sounding very confused, "Somehow I just know."

"We'll finish up here and then go find Greed," I said, "See if you can track him as he moves through the city."

"Will do." said Silver.

The others were looking at me expectantly.

"We heard what he said." said Chloe.

"What do you want to do?" asked Yuna.

"Go beat Greed into a bloody pulp," I said, "We'll make him regret ever coming down to Earth."

"But first we NEED to buy you that dress," said Chloe, "It's absolutely perfect and if you don't get it now, another bride with similar tastes might swoop it up."

"I can't afford this," I muttered, looking at myself in the mirror longingly, "But it is perfect…"

I was about to walk over to the change room with my head down, but Chloe put her hand in front of me. Clutched tightly in her hand was a plastic credit card that was glistening in the light of the store.

"Where did that come from?" I asked her.

"Daddy," said Chloe with a smug grin, "He called me a few nights ago and said that he missed me. Then when I checked my mailbox, I found this is a envelope with an expedited sticker on it."

"Well congratulations!" I said, going in for a big hug, "This is exactly what you've been waiting to have happen."

"I know!" she shrieked delightedly, "And now thanks to Daddy, I can be the best Maid of Honour ever and buy you your dress!"

"Technically I haven't chosen a Maid of Honour yet…" I said with a mischievous grin.

"Okay when you say things like that, it make me not want to buy the dress for you." said Chloe.

"Touché," I said, letting go of her from our big hug, "I'll take it!"

"And the best part is," said Priya, "Your dress can be your something new AND your something blue."

Chloe walked over to the register and gestured excitedly at the dress I was wearing.

"We'll take this one." she said, handing over the shiny new credit card.

I never took off the dress. All I could think about was finding Greed and rescuing the boys. Priya helped me get into Chloe's car, and then joined me in the backseat as we left the store parking lot.

"Silver, any sightings of Greed?" I asked.

"No, but that shouldn't be a problem," said Silver, "He turned the boys into golden statues, and I'll bet you anything he wants to add you girls to his collection."

"Which means all we have to do is pick a spot and wait." said Priya.

"Where's a good spot to wait for a Sin Lieutenant?" asked Yuna.

"It doesn't matter as long as Greed comes." I said.

"Why not lure him to the street outside Headquarters?" suggested Silver.

"I like it." I said.

Chloe drove us quickly, but still carefully from the parking lot in Sector 10 to Silver's mansion downtown, in Sector 0. After parking, I refused help from Priya in getting out of the car. I would have to learn how to do it by myself eventually.

"Slowly… Gently…" I muttered as I moved.

"Are sure you don't need help?" asked Priya, as she watched me.

"I'm good." I said.

Eventually I touched both feet down on the concrete and started to walk. Walking was easy, it was everything else that was awkward.

When we reached the sidewalk, I saw that Silver was waiting for us. He was almost never seen not wearing a business casual outfit.

"Good afternoon ladies." he said to us as we approached him.

Silver looked down and noticed that I was still wearing the wedding dress.

"Rachel, do you want to change clothes before the fight?" he asked.

"No," I said, giving myself a hug, "I need to break it in at some point."

"You look incredible." chuckled Silver.

"Thanks." I said, blushing.

"Silver, there has to be something we can do to speed things up!" said Chloe, desperately, "I'm the Maid of Honour! I have a to-do list as long as I am tall."

"I'm sorry, Chloe, but agents think differently than Trojan's viruses," said Silver, "Viruses were created by Trojan and existed for one reason; to kill the Power Rangers. I could also easily track viruses, because they were digital beings."

"Whereas the Crusaders' agents are independent thinkers," said Yuna, "Each one works in their own unique way. The only way we could know what would make a particular agent appear, is if we knew how they think."

Silver grunted and groaned again. He clutched his head in pain. It was very brief, because seconds later, he was fine and look slightly confused as to what happened.

"Greed is attracted to greed." he said, simply.

"Of course!" I said, putting my hand over my face, "Silver did say that Greed turned the boys into gold because each of them desperately wanted something in that moment."

"I don't get it." said Yuna.

"All we have to do summon Greed is clear our minds and think greedy thoughts," I said, "It shouldn't matter if we're faking it. I doubt Greed can tell the difference."

"Silver," said Chloe, "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah," he said, "I don't why, but my mind has been really frazzled lately."

"Yeah, and you also seem to know a lot about Greed." said Priya.

"I can't explain it." he said.

Chloe, Yuna, Priya and I stood together in a small circle. We closed our eyes and concentrated on phoney, greedy thoughts. This was a shot in the dark and I had no idea if it would even work.

We stood there, patiently waiting to see if my idea would work and fool Greed into thinking we were greedy. Well, actually, in that moment I was really greedy for a chance to kick Greed's ass.

There was a "cha-ching" sound, as gold coins rained down in front of us. From the same invisible source of the coins, came a gigantic coin that landed on the street a few feet away from Silver's mansion.

We watched, fascinated, as the top side of the large coin began to move exactly like water on a day with no wind. Then, from beneath the water, a wrinkly hand reached up and grabbed onto the edge of the coin to pull itself out of the water. A few seconds later, a short, stubby man with very greasy black hair and gold, wrinkly skin was standing before us. There was no question that this was Greed.

"Ah, the female rangers," he said, "I don't believe we've had the pleasure."

"It's morphing time, girls!" I announced, peering over my shoulder to look at them.

"Blue Ranger! CYBER POWER!" I shouted.

"Green Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Yuna.

"Orange Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Chloe.

"Pink Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Priya.

This was the first time I've morphed since my leg was amputated and I was relieved at how normal it felt. It gave me a confidence boost that eventually, I would get used to my bionic leg and things will go back to the way they used to be.

After my blue ranger suit materialized on my body, I felt the familiar and somewhat addicting surge of newfound strength.

"Don't flatter yourself!" I snapped to Greed, "I promise you there'll be nothing pleasurable about this!"

"You tell 'em, Blue!" cheered Orange.

"Greed, you turned my fiancée into a statue!" I snapped, "If you undo what you did, I might find it in my heart to take it slightly easy on you."

"You insolent wretch!" roared Greed, "You should be thanking me for purging this putrid world of greed and avarice!"

A resplendent, golden sword appeared in front of Greed. He took it and twirled it around for a while before he advanced on me.

"Download weapon!" I called, holding out my hand.

My ring blade materialized in my hand. I swung it at Greed, who blocked the attack with ease.

"Nobody said anything about him having a sword…" said Orange, giving Silver a glance.

"Don't look at me like that," said Silver, "He didn't use a sword when was he fighting with the boys."

" **Priya Underwood"**

Blue and Greed were locked together in a combat. They were snarling a grunting angrily, but neither seemed to have an advantage of the other.

I walked over to Green and whispered in her ear.

"Do you know anything about Greed?" I asked.

She took a moment to think.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, "He has a satchel or a bag where he keeps all his treasure."

I looked at Greed just as he swung his sword at Blue again. Hanging from his belt, on the right side of his body, was a small brown satchel.

"Is that it?" I asked, pointing at the satchel.

"I guess so," said Green, "But look how small it is. I don't think he could actually fit much of anything in that tiny thing."

"It's probably magic or something," I said, "Bigger on the inside than the outside."

"Mind if I butt into the conversation?" asked Orange.

"Not at all." said Green.

"If things go south and Greed gets the upper hand, I think it would be in our best interests to try and give us a backup plan."

"What do you mean?" asked Green.

"Silver said Greed turned Riley, Oz and Sawyer into statues, right?"

"Right." said Green.

"He's probably got them in that satchel," said Orange, "Let's see if we can take the statues from him. Without them, he has nothing to use against us in case he overpowers Blue."

"It's a good idea," I said, "But how would we go about doing it?"

"Pink, didn't Zeke pass on his powers and memories to you?" asked Orange.

"Yeah, but I've never been able to use any of them." I said.

"Have you even tried?" asked Green.

"No, but I suppose now would be a good time." I said.

"On top of Zeke's powers, didn't Silver also say your codec absorbed a bit of interdimensional energy from the Crusader's hovercraft because it was created there?" asked Orange.

"She's right," said Green, "Why don't you ask your codec to help you access a few fancy powers that only you have?"

"I can do that?" I asked.

Orange and Green nodded at me confidently.

"Alright, I'll do it." I said.

I held my wrist up to my mouth and, feeling a little silly, talked to the pink gem inserted in my Digitizer.

"Codec," I said, "Can you help us get our friends back from Greed's satchel?"

"Yes, but you need to help me do it." came a voice.

"Did you just talk?" I asked it.

"Yes," said my codec, "But only you can hear my voice."

"Oh okay," I said, "Well what do you need me to do?"

"Do what you usually do to teleport, but this time, focus on getting inside the satchel as your destination," said my codec, "Hold hands with one of your friends and I'll take over from there."

"Wow," I said, "That's really cool."

"What did your codec say?" asked Orange.

"It can take me and one other person into the satchel by teleporting," I said, "All I have to do is concentrate on the satchel as the destination."

"Awesome." said Green.

"Orange, why don't you come with me?" I asked her, "Green you stay behind and backup Blue if she needs it."

"Got it." said Green, nodding.

Orange walked over to me with her hand held out. I took it confidently and concentrated hard. There was a bright flash and suddenly we weren't outside Silver's mansion anymore.

"I think it worked." said Orange.

"Yeah," I said, "Now let's find the boys."

The inside of Greed's satchel wasn't the inside of a bag, it was more like a completely separate world contained in the bag. The world just a grey void with a strange, cloud like surface for ground. There were no buildings, hills or anything, the platform we were standing on was completely flat and extended forever in every direction.

"We are definitely not in Metro City anymore." said Orange.

"This place goes on for miles!" I snapped, "How are we supposed to find anything in here!?"

"This is a pocket dimension," said Orange, "That's how Greed can fit whatever he needs in here."

"Pocket dimension?" I asked.

"I saw the term in a book Jenna was reading the other day." said Orange.

"If Greed uses this place for storage," I said, "Then there must be a way to quickly summon specific things."

"Let's give it a try." said Orange.

While shrugging and feeling a little foolish, I stood up straight and crossed my arms.

"Gold statues!" I announced.

Nothing happened. Except there was a strange feeling as the dimension disappeared around us. The next thing we knew, we were back on the street outside Silver's mansion. Greed was waiting for us, but there was no sign of Blue or Green.

"Looking for these?" jeered Greed, snapping his fingers.

From out of nowhere, three gold statues appeared and fell to the ground.

"I knew you'd try to find them in my satchel," he said, "So I moved them before you went inside."

"Rachel…" whimpered a familiar voice.

I turned around and gasped when I saw Yuna, back in civilian form, mourning over a new, fourth gold statue that was the splitting image of Rachel.

"That can't be good." muttered Orange.

Looks like Rachel lost against Greed.

"But Rachel isn't greedy!" I snapped to Greed.

"That doesn't matter," sniffled Yuna, "Greed has corrupted his powers so that they now affect anyone with strong, slightly selfish desires."

"But she wanted to rescue Riley." said Orange.

"Yes," said Yuna, "But she wanted revenge more, which is selfish."

Her words triggered something in the back of my mind. I had a plan that just might work. I casually strode over to Yuna and tapped her on the shoulder. She got to her feet and looked at me with a tragic look on her face.

"I have an idea." I said to her.

She nodded.

"You need to trick Greed into targeting you with whatever it he has that turns people into gold statues." I whispered into her ear.

"Are you crazy!?" she snorted.

"Yuna," I whispered, "You're the most selfless person I've ever met. You traveled back in time to help the Power Rangers knowing full well that you'll never get to experience the future you fought with them for."

"Will that be enough to protect me?" she asked.

"You're the expert on the Crusaders," I whispered, "You studied them for weeks before you traveled back in time."

"Wait a minute," she said, "I'm remembering something about Greed."

I was so proud of her, that I had to stop myself from nibbling her ear. Instead, I settled for kissing her forehead.

"Greed turns people into statues by throwing a coin at them," she said, "But the coin works both ways, so if I am immune to his powers, once he throws a coin at me, I could throw it back and turn HIM into a statue."

"He's vulnerable to his own powers?" I asked.

"Yeah." said Yuna.

"So, are you feeling lucky?" I whispered.

"This creep is going down." said Yuna.

"What are you two talking about?" asked Orange.

"We have a plan." I said, nodding confidently.

Orange nodded back at me, then she nodded at Yuna too. Yuna had a fiercely confident look on her face, as she raised her arm, ready to morph.

"Green Ranger! CYBER POWER!" shouted Yuna.

She landed on the street outside Silver's mansion with her green ranger suit on.

"Mind filling me in on this plan of yours?" Orange asked me.

She came closer to me, so I whisper in her ear too.

"Yuna knows that Greed isn't immune to his own powers and I'm 99% sure that Greed's powers won't work on Yuna." I whispered,

"So, we need to make Greed target Green?" whispered Orange.

I nodded at her as we walked over to stand closer to Green.

"Girls, I heard your plan." came Silver's voice.

I looked around and noticed that Silver wasn't outside with us anymore. He probably went back inside after Greed showed up to help us from a safe distance.

"Yuna," continued Silver, "Why don't you do what you did to summon Greed in the first place?"

"It's our best bet," I said, "Just be ready to switch back as soon as Greed picks up on your thoughts."

Green nodded confidently and stepped forward and in front of Orange and me.

"Now that you have the first female ranger as a statue, I'll bet you'd like a chance to collect the last three." said Green.

"I sense naughty greed in your heart." said Greed, hungrily while sniffing as if he could smell the fake thoughts Green was thinking.

As we hoped he would, Greed summoned an innocuous looking gold coin and hurled it directly at Green.

Sticking to the plan, she stood her ground and watched the coin as it drew closer to her until it was within reach. Using two fingers, Green picked up the coin and brought it close to her face to examine it curiously.

"It seems so small and insignificant." she said.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" roared Greed, "I SENSED GREED IN YOUR HEART!"

"Plot twist," I said, "She faked those thoughts."

"No matter!" snapped Greed, "If I can't turn her into a statue, I'll just turn you two instead. Then, I'll make the fake watch as I melt down her golden friends into a brand new sword."

"Yuna, go for it!" I cheered, purposely using her name instead of her colour.

Green took a moment to take off her helmet and place it on the ground by her feet.

"What's she doing?" asking Orange.

"I don't know." I said.

"Greed, you probably don't recognize me, but I recognize you. I don't blame you, I was only a baby back then," snarled Yuna, "You're the one that killed my parents."

"I have killed many pathetic humans," cackled Greed, "You'll have to be more specific."

"My name is Yuna Murphy, daughter of John and Carol Murphy!" hollered Yuna, her voice breaking a bit, "I took off my helmet because I want my face to be the last one you ever see!"

Yuna buried her face in the crook of her arm momentarily. Once she regained her composure, she took the coin and threw it back at Greed.

"Does Greed know that his coins can hurt him?" asked Orange.

"I don't think so," I said, "If he does, I'm sure he'd have dodged it by now."

The coin hit Greed in the eye. A look of pain and horror appeared on his face until suddenly, he turned to stone; the battle was over, we won.

"Power down." said Orange and I together.

Yuna reverted back to civilian form and collapsed to her knees, sobbing. Chloe ran over to Yuna and put her arms around her for a big hug. Instinctively, I followed closely behind Chloe, but had to stop myself from joining the hug.

"Sweetie," said Chloe, "Why didn't you tell us Greed killed your parents?"

"I didn't know," wailed Yuna, "I was too young to remember. But then when I saw his face after he turned Rachel into a statue, the memory came rushing back."

"I'm so proud of you," said Chloe, "You were so brave."

"She's strong like an amazon." I said.

That was a pet name I used for Yuna before we traveled back in time. I doubt she would tell Chloe something like that, so I knew it was safe to say.

"The others." gasped Yuna, standing up after Chloe let go of her.

She ran over to Greed, who was still encased in stone and kicked him over. The force of the kick and impact from landing hard on the street caused Greed to break into tiny pieces.

Before Yuna confronted him, Greed had summoned the gold statues of Sawyer, Oz and Riley from wherever he had been hiding them, so Chloe and I picked them up and moved them over to the gold statue of Rachel.

"We defeated Greed, so they should go back to normal soon, right?" I asked.

"That's how it usually works," said Chloe, "But I don't know if it's a set in stone rule."

Yuna grew impatient and touched the Riley statue with her finger. The statue glowed white, and when the light faded, Riley was back to his usual self. He looked around frantically and scratched his head.

"Did I miss something?" he asked.

"Greed turned you into a statue." I said.

"And now I'm back to normal, which means you managed to beat him."

Yuna went over to the Sawyer statue and touched her finger to it. Then she went over to the Oz statue, and finally, the Rachel statue. Once all three statues were glowing brightly, Yuna came to stand next to Chloe as we watched the others return to normal.

Riley was waiting by Rachel's side as she stopped glowing. They looked deeply into each other's eyes, and then Rachel used her hand to cover Riley's eyes.

"Don't look at me!" she giggled, "You're not supposed to see me in my dress before the wedding!"

"Then why are you wearing before the wedding?" he chuckled.

"When Silver told me you were in trouble, I was dress shopping and didn't get a chance to change back into my regular clothes." said Rachel.

Riley kept his eyes closed as Rachel scampered into Silver's mansion using the seldom used front door.

Once she was safely inside, Riley opened his eyes again and walked over to us. Sawyer and Oz followed shortly afterwards.

"You three beat a Sin Lieutenant all on your own?" asked Riley.

"Yeah, it turns out Yuna is immune from Greed's powers." I said.

"And Greed was the one that killed Yuna's parents." said Chloe.

"So, justice has been served?" asked Sawyer.

"Justice isn't a food." said Yuna.

"It's a figure of speech." said Chloe.

"There's a lot of those," sighed Yuna, "I don't like them."

"Why are we still standing out here?" asked Oz, loudly but happily, "Let's head over to the Youth Lodge and celebrate this glorious victory!"

"You can tell us everything we missed once we get there." said Sawyer.

" **Rachel Parker"**

A few minutes later, after I had teleported back home to store my wedding dress safely and then to the hospital for a change of clothes, I met up with Riley and the others at the Youth Lodge.

"Well?" asked Oz, once we were all sitting at the biggest table in the building, "Let's hear the awesome tale of how you beat Greed to a bloody pulp."

"Hold that thought," said Chloe, "There's something I need to do first."

She got up from the table and headed in the direction of the stage. She walked about halfway when she turned around and beckoned for Yuna to come with her.

Yuna's face turned bright red and she tried to hide her face in her hands, but Chloe took her hand and gently tugged until Yuna relented.

Chloe's performances were extremely popular. There were dozens of people who came to the Youth Lodge just to hear her sing and today was no different. When the audience saw that Chloe was bringing Yuna to the stage with her, they whooped and cheered.

I noticed that there was now a chair on the stage that isn't normally there. Once they reached the stage, Chloe had Yuna sit in the chair before she grabbed the microphone.

"Everyone," said Chloe to the building at large, "This is my girlfriend, Yuna. She had a bad day today, so I thought I'd do something a little different."

"Please don't make me sing." said Yuna.

"You don't have to sing," said Chloe, "All you have to do is listen."

Yuna nodded and managed a weak smile.

"This song is for you." said Chloe.

Chloe pointed to whoever was deejaying today and the music started playing. Chloe put the microphone back on the stand and got ready, waiting for her cue. When it came, she started to sing:

" _You were in college working part-time waiting tables. Left a small town, never looked back, I was a flight risk, with a fear of falling. Wondering why we bother with love, if it never lasts. I say, "Can you believe it?" As we're lying on the couch, the moment I can see it yes, yes I can see it now. Do you remember we were sitting there by the water? You put your arm around me for the first time. You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter. You are the best thing that's ever been mine._ "

As Yuna listened to the lyrics, she broke into tears again, but this time they were happy tears. After a while, Yuna started moving her head slowly to the melody. When the song was over, everyone applauded enthusiastically and loudly.

"Chloe..." said Yuna softly.

"Do you feel better?" asked Chloe.

Instead of answering, Yuna stood up and kissed Chloe the lips. It was long and passionate, but still completely G-Rated. After they broke apart, they made their way, hand in hand back to our table.

"That was beautiful, Chloe." said Priya.

"How long have you been planning that?" I asked Chloe.

"I haven't been planning it," she said, "But I knew it would cheer her up."

We ordered some food and ate while listening to the story of how Yuna, Chloe and Priya came up with a clever plan and used it to defeat Greed and rescue us. They also told us about how Yuna remembered that Greed was the agent that killed who she thinks were her parents.

When the story was over, we stayed at the Youth Lodge for a few more hours, Chloe went up and sang four more songs, sans Yuna though, since she's very shy and didn't like being the center of attention.

That evening went on to be one of the best we've had in a long time. It felt more like how things had been before the Crusaders showed up, during the time of peace after we beat Trojan.

I was already getting used to my new leg. It made me happy to know that the amputation didn't change things drastically. Then when I remembered how close the wedding was, my heart skipped a beat. I have a strong feeling that no matter what we do or how well prepared we are, the Crusaders will be ready to crash the party.


End file.
